Abstract: Objective To understand the epidemic characteristics and trends of HIV/AIDS prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Beihai City, Guangxi, for scientific basis to formulate HIV/AIDS prevention and control measures for this group of population. Methods The sentinel surveillance data on MSM from 2014 to 2020 and HIV/AIDS cases reported from 2008 to 2020 in Beihai City were retrieved. The HIV/AIDS epidemic characteristics of time, population, area distribution of MSM, knowledge and behaviors of AIDS prevention of sentinel MSM in Beihai were analyzed. Results Totally, 201 cases of HIV/AIDS in MSM were reported in Beihai City from 2008 to 2020, which accounted for 11.10% of the total number of newly discovered and reported HIV/AIDS cases in the same period. The number and composition ratio of MSM cases tended to grow year by year, with newly reported cases rising from 1 to 37 cases each year, and the composition ratio had risen from 1.41% to 21.51%. The median age of MSM cases was 26.0(22.0, 33.5) years. The education level was college or above, which accounted for 38.81%, and 80.10% were unmarried. The occupation was associated with housework man and current unemployment(29.35%), services in food industry and other businesses(26.87%) and students(12.94%). Most MSM cases were identified in active testing and consulting(48.26%). Although MSM cases were distributed in one country and three districts under Beihai administration, yet were most in Haicheng district(51.24%). The household registration was mainly in Beihai area(56.22%). History of sexually transmitted diseases was higher, yet the death ratio was lower in MSM group than in other population(χ2=14.74, P<0.001; χ2=63.73, P<0.001, respectively). The sentinel surveillance between 2014 and 2020 showed that awareness rate of AIDS knowledge was 95.83%-100.00% among MSM, and 52.70%-70.55% of them had a habit of condom use during the sexual behavior in the past 6 months. HIV and syphilis infection rate was between 4.19% and 26.36%, 5.39% and 8.05%, respectively. Conclusion MSM shall be the key population for AIDS prevention and control in Beihai City, for whom specific intervention measures should be formulated to prevent spread of AIDS.

Key words: Men who have sex with men, AIDS, Sentinel surveillance, Epidemiological characteristics, Beihai City