Chemsex, a new risky sexual behavior involving participation in sexual relations under the influence of drugs, has shown a significantly increased prevalence in recent years. This fact entails a serious public health issue, especially when Chemsex is practiced by individuals with an HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) diagnosis. Hence, analyzing the characteristics of Chemsex practices, associated sexual practices and the health outcomes of individuals who participate in Chemsex, is extremely important. The main aim of the present study is to analyze the prevalence and characteristics of the practice of Chemsex in a sample of 101 men with HIV who have sex with men who attended the Department of Infectious Diseases of the General University Hospital of Alicante (Spain). Furthermore, the association between Chemsex and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was also assessed. Chemsex and sexual practices were evaluated by employing a questionnaire applied on an ad hoc basis. HRQoL was assessed by employing the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV). In total, 40.6% of the participants had practiced Chemsex during the last year. When sexual practices were compared between those individuals who practiced Chemsex and those who did not, the former presented a higher level of risky sexual behaviors, especially with occasional and multiple sexual partners. Regarding HRQoL, those individuals who practiced Chemsex exhibited a poorer HRQoL in the majority of domains, especially those participants who practiced it with a higher intensity. The present study points out the high prevalence of Chemsex practice between men with HIV who have sex with men in Spain. Moreover, this study highlights the negative effects of Chemsex on HRQoL, probably due to the mixed effects of higher levels of risky sexual practices and the consequences of drug consumption.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several changes in society, especially in the educational context, where several learning methodologies and social interactions have been modified significantly. This fact could have had a negative impact on academic stress levels of students and the classroom climate, especially in the university context. The main aim of the present study was to identify changes in academic stress and the perceived classroom climate caused by COVID-19 in a sample of Spanish university students. Academic stress was evaluated trough the Stressor Academic Scale (SAS) and perceived classroom climate employing the Perceived Classroom Responsibility Climate (PCRC) questionnaire. A longitudinal study was conducted. 135 students (97 females and 38 males) from the Gastronomy (n = 31) and Criminology (n = 104) degrees were evaluated before and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain. Academic stress levels and perceived classroom climate were analyzed before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) the lockdown declaration. An increase in academic stress was found, especially in the categories regarding Teachers’ Methodological Deficiencies, Academic Over-Burden and Beliefs About Performances. Females and final year students suffered higher levels of academic stress. No differences were found between Time 1 and 2 in perceived classroom climate. The obtained results point out a significant increase of academic stress in university students due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. The implemented educational changes and the uncertainty that resulted from the pandemic could have a significant negative impact on mental health in this population, resulting in higher levels of academic stress, especially in females and final year students. Future studies should analyze the strategies that students are employing to cope with these educational challenges and intervention strategies to promote them in the context of higher education.

The increase in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission cases poses a serious public health concern. Although several previous studies have been conducted with the aim of identifying the risk factors for HIV transmission, the number of cases has been increasing, especially in youth. The present study is aimed at the identification of personal and lifestyle determinants of HIV transmission risk in a sample of 335 Spanish university students selected by convenience sampling from a public university located in Alicante (Spain). Sociodemographic factors, lifestyles, and variables of HIV risk of transmission were evaluated. Group differences on risk of HIV transmission were evaluated between participants depending on their sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, relationship status, employment status, economic status, and sexual orientation) and lifestyle (diet, physical exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and stress). Linear regression models were conducted in order to identify those personal and lifestyle variables related to HIV transmission risk. The obtained results indicate that, generally, being older, in a relationship, and employed were factors related to a high risk of HIV transmission. Regarding lifestyle, poor diet, lower intensity of physical exercise, higher alcohol intake, and smoking were fundamentally associated with a higher risk of HIV transmission, through lower use of condoms and higher frequency of risky sexual behaviors. Hence, participants who develop an unhealthy lifestyle exhibit twice the probability of being at a high risk of HIV transmission, especially regarding these previously indicated behaviors. The present study points out the relevance of sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyles of university students in their proneness to developing risky behaviors for HIV infection. Future studies should be developed with larger, randomized, and more representative samples, in order to obtain significant information for the development of effective preventive strategies oriented toward the increase in the adherence to healthy lifestyles and HIV prevention.

The Mediterranean Lifestyle (MLS) has been related to better health and quality of life. However, there is no consensus on how to assess this lifestyle. The main objective of this work was to systematically review the methodology used in different studies on the evaluation of the MLS. The specific objectives were (1) to analyze the MLS components evaluated in previous studies, (2) to explore the assessment instruments available for the analysis of the MLS, and (3) to identify the psychometric properties of these instruments. The search was carried out using the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases with the purpose of identifying those published articles in which the MLS was assessed. The review included 26 studies linked to the assessment of the MLS. Of these studies, only four exclusively used a tool to analyze MLS components globally. These studies included two questionnaires and three different indexes. None of them, however, evaluated all of the recognized MLS components, and food preparation was the least frequently evaluated component. Given the clear importance of analyzing MLS adherence and the lack of consensus in previous research, an evaluation tool needs to be created to comprehensively assess all of the MLS dimensions by means of appropriate psychometric properties.

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of undiagnosed mental health conditions (UMHC) in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) on antiretroviral treatment and with long-term suppressed HIV viremia, and its association with neurocognitive impairment (NCI). A cross-sectional observational study on HIV subjects, ≥18 years old, on stable antiretroviral treatment and with HIV viral load <50 copies/mL was carried out. Patients with known comorbidities, substances abuse, anxiety or depression were excluded. UMHC were evaluated by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III and NCI by Frascati criteria. The association between NCI and sociodemographic, clinical HIV variables and mental health conditions was analyzed. Further, the relationship between mental health conditions scores and NCI diagnosis was evaluated. Eighty patients were included, 37.5% had at least one undiagnosed mental health condition, and 26.3% had NCI. The most frequent mental health conditions were: anxiety (21.3%); bipolar disorder (11.3%); and substance dependence (8.8%). Only longer time since HIV diagnosis (p = 0.030) and at least one mental health condition diagnosis (p = 0.002) showed an association with NCI. Participants with NCI presented higher scores in anxiety, alcohol dependence and post-traumatic stress. Undiagnosed mental health conditions are frequent in PLWHIV. These disorders cannot be identified by HIV clinicians or basic screening questionnaires, and they are not usually self-reported by patients. UMHC could act as confounders in the evaluation of NCI.

Problematic binge-watching, defined as the compulsive consumption of audiovisual content for prolonged periods of time, has increased in prevalence, especi