Prevalence of mpox infection among men who have sex with men: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Infectious Diseases of Poverty·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40249-026-01493-y
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7203694254
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The pronounced regional disparities suggest that targeted geographic strategies and uniform monitoring protocols would enhance future outbreak management and funding distribution.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The analysis aimed to quantify the global infection rate of mpox specifically within male populations engaging in same-sex sexual activity.
Study design
Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, aggregating data from multiple international academic databases using standardized quality assessment tools.
Population and setting
The synthesis encompassed 46,598 individuals identified as men who have sex with men across fifteen different nations.
Main findings
The aggregated data indicated an overall infection rate of 2.30 percent. Geographic location emerged as a primary driver of variation, with South American cohorts demonstrating markedly elevated rates compared to Asian cohorts. Variability was further influenced by recruitment techniques, while infection frequencies remained statistically comparable across distinct risk and symptom categories.
Public-health relevance
The pronounced regional disparities suggest that targeted geographic strategies and uniform monitoring protocols would enhance future outbreak management and funding distribution.
Important limitations
The synthesis experienced substantial statistical inconsistency stemming from diverse recruitment approaches and varying local disease patterns. Authors noted that these methodological discrepancies may constrain the exactness of the combined estimates.
GIDS interpretation
This publication functions as a consolidated reference point for historical demographic infection patterns, providing structured background information useful for contextual literature searches or trend mapping initiatives.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.