María José Belza
Biographic Data
| ID | 6173386 |
|---|---|
| NAME | María José Belza |
| GIVEN NAMES | María José |
| FAMILY NAME | Belza |
| SIGNATURE | BELZA M J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Instituto de Salud Carlos III |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4816-7750 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 40 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Pleasure and Vulnerability
Sexualized drug use (SDU) is an emerging and understudied phenomenon among trans and/or non-binary populations (TNBP). This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of SDU, gender differences in the use of 14 different substances, motivations for engaging in SDU and factors associated with emotion regulation-related SDU among TNBP who reported this practice. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with a convenience sample of 1772 participants …
Characteristics of Men who have Sex with Men and Women Attendees to Sexual Health Services in Barcelona and Madrid (2018–2021)
Background Men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) represent a key population in HIV prevention and sexual health. Despite being described as a “bridge population,” they are often categorized as bisexual or grouped within broader MSM or LGBT+ labels. Methods This cross-sectional study analysed data from 3,548 MSM recruited between 2018 and 2021 at two sexual health clinics and two community-based services in Barcelona and Madrid. Participants …
Evolución De La Mortalidad Accidental E Intencional Por Intoxicación Aguda Con Sustancias en Personas De 65 Años Y Más en España, 2001-2022
“Que Nos Devuelvan La Dignidad Robada”
Consumo Problemático De Sustancias en Personas Trans Y No Binarias Residentes en España
Elegibilidad a Prep en Personas Trans Y/O No Binarias en España Según Diferentes Guías
Desigualdades en La Actividad Física Entre Personas Trans Y No Binarias en España
Impacto De Un Escenario De Aislamiento E Incertidumbre en El Consumo De Sustancias en Personas Trans Y No Binarias
El Consumo De Sustancias en Las Relaciones Sexuales Como Predictor De Conductas Sexuales De Riesgo en La Adolescencia
Evolución De La Mortalidad Prematura Fuertemente Relacionada Con Alcohol en España Durante 2001-2022 Según Comunidad Autónoma
Emergency Healthcare Utilization and Unmet Care Needs in Chemsex Users
Inequities in HIV prevention among trans and/or non-binary people
Awareness of PrEP is moderate, while that of PEP is lower; in both cases, there is a high lack of knowledge about how to access them, and use of both strategies is low. Disparities, particularly among certain subgroups, such as trans men, younger TGNB, those with low educational level and those living in smaller cities, reflect structural inequities in access to both strategies. Targeted and tailored strategies, including campaigns to improve awa…
Assessing educational disparities in Covid-19 related excess mortality in Spain
Introduction: Data on the increase in mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic based on individuals' socioeconomic positions are limited. This study examines this increase in mortality in Spain during the epidemic waves of 2020 and 2021. Methods: We calculated the overall and cause-specific mortality rates during the 2017-2019 pre-pandemic period and four epidemic periods in 2020 and 2021 (first, second, third-fourth, and fifth-sixth waves). Mortal…
Gaps in HIV and Hepatitis C Testing Among 3486 HIV-Negative Men Who have Sex with Men in Spain in the Era of Highly Effective Antiviral Therapies
Heavy Drinking by Occupation in Spain
Drug Use Prevalence and Age of First Use in Sexual Minority Men Compared to General Population Men in Spain
Changes in all-cause and cause-specific mortality by occupational skill during Covid-19 epidemic in Spain
BACKGROUND: There is little information on the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality by occupation. The objective was to examine changes in mortality during the COVID-19 period compared with the prepandemic period in different occupational groups in Spain. METHODS: Average mortality in the entire period 2020-2021, and each of its semesters, was compared, respectively, with the average mortality in the entire period 2017-2019, …
Abrupt peaks in perceived risk of occasional drug use after changing the question order in a repeated self-administered survey
Background: Question-order changes in repeated surveys can distort comparisons. We want to describe the evolution of drug risk perceptions among Spanish adolescents and assessing whether the 2006 peaks in perceived risk of occasional drug use can be explained by question-order changes. Methods: The subjects were secondary students from a biennial national survey during 2000-2012. A one-off intervention was applied in 2006, replacing the two-adjac…
Sexualized drug use among men who have sex with men in Madrid and Barcelona
This original study compares the prevalences of drug use for any purpose and for sexualized drug use (SDU) among MSM. It also describes relevant characteristics of first SDU, analyzes to what extent SDU has been the first experience (the gateway) with different drugs by age and explores the correlates of SDU. Study participants included 2,919 HIV-negative MSM attending four HIV/STI diagnosis services in Madrid and Barcelona. They answered an onli…
Awareness and Use of HIV Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Remains Low in Spain 2 Years After Its Authorization
Objectives: HIV self-testing has been available in Spain since 2017 as a diagnostic tool to promote earlier diagnosis. We aimed to assess awareness and previous use of HIV self-testing in a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) recruited online more than 2 years after its legal authorization in Spain. Methods: We analyzed 5,492 MSM recruited between May and July 2020 in gay dating apps/websites and other social networks. We estimated the prop…
Estimating the Prevalence of Recreational Opioid Use in Spain Using a Multiplier Method
Knowledge and Prior Use of HIV Self-Testing in Madrid and Barcelona among Men Who Have Sex with Men More than One Year after Its Legal Authorization in Spain
This study assessed the knowledge and prior use of HIV self-testing in a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) recruited in a sexual health clinic and two community-based testing sites in Madrid and Barcelona, >12 months after its legal authorization. Between March 2019 and December 2020, we recruited 2044 MSM. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire while waiting to be tested for HIV and other STIs. We built two Poisson regr…
Educational Gradients in Drinking Amount and Heavy Episodic Drinking among Working-Age Men and Women in Spain
Alcohol-related harm decreases as socioeconomic position increases, although sometimes the opposite happens with alcohol intake. The objective was to know the educational gradient in monthly measures of drinking amount and heavy episodic drinking (HED) among people aged 25−64 years in Spain from 1997−2017. Such gradient was characterized with the relative percent change (PC) in drinking measures per year of education from generalized linear regre…
Association of Sexualized Drug Use Patterns with HIV/STI Transmission Risk in an Internet Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Seven European Countries
Injection of Anabolic Steroids in Men Who Had Sex with Men in Madrid and Barcelona
This study describes the prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) injection, their main correlates, and the prevalence of specific AAS injection risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM), an area insufficiently addressed in scientific research. Participants were HIV-negative MSM attending four HIV/STI diagnosis services: two clinics and two community programmes in Madrid and Barcelona. Participants answered an online self-admin…
Educational differences in mortality and the relative importance of different causes of death
BACKGROUND: The evidence on mortality patterns by education in Spain comes from regional areas. This study aimed to estimate these patterns in the whole Spanish population. METHODS: All citizens aged 25 years and over and residing in Spain in 2001 were followed during 7 years to determine their vital status, resulting in a total of 196,470,401 person-years and 2,379,558 deaths. We estimated the age-adjusted total and cause-specific mortality by e…
Changes in directly alcohol-attributable mortality during the great recession by employment status in Spain
Background Macroeconomic fluctuations can impact differentially on alcohol-related problems across sociodemographic groups. We assess trend changes in directly alcohol-attributable (DAA) mortality in the population aged 25–64 during the post-2008 recession in Spain according to employment status and other sociodemographic factors. Methods Nationwide cohort study covering 21.9 million people living in Spain in 2001. People were classified by emplo…
Human immunodeficiency virus testing uptake and risk behaviours in Spain
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency (HIV) testing in the general population; to analyse factors related to voluntary testing; and to describe the main reasons for testing, the kinds of health services where testing takes place and the relations between self-risk perception and HIV testing. METHODS: A probability sample survey of health and sexual behaviour in men and women aged 18-49 year…
Sexual behaviour and condom use in the general population of Spain, 1996
A national household survey of a representative sample of 9,984 individuals aged 15 years or over, carried out in 1996 using a combination of face-to-face interviews and self-completion questionnaires, was analyzed in order to describe the frequency of HIV sexual risk behaviours and condom use in Spain. Of a total of 8,101 persons (81%) who completed the questionnaire, 37% reported no sexual partner during the previous 12 months, 57% reported one…
Sociodemographic characteristics and HIV risk behaviour patterns of male sex workers in Madrid, Spain
This paper describes the sociodemographic and work characteristics, prevalence of HIV infection and associated risk behaviours among male sex workers (MSWs) in Madrid (Spain). Using an anonymous semi-structured questionnaire, educators attached to a mobile unit under a street-based prostitution programme surveyed 84 MSWs from several Madrid areas. Of the total surveyed: 35% were immigrants, mean age was 23 years, mean period in prostitution was f…
Human immunodeficiency virus testing uptake and risk behaviours in Spain
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency (HIV) testing in the general population; to analyse factors related to voluntary testing; and to describe the main reasons for testing, the kinds of health services where testing takes place and the relations between self-risk perception and HIV testing. METHODS: A probability sample survey of health and sexual behaviour in men and women aged 18-49 year…
Preferred HIV testing services and programme characteristics among clients of a rapid HIV testing programme
HIV testing services that don't require an appointment, based on free tests with rapid results are most valued by a young, not socially marginalized but high risk sexual exposure population. On the contrary, issues traditionally highly valued by health care providers or AIDS social organizations (privacy and anonymity) are much less valued
Approval and Potential Use of Over-the-Counter HIV Self-Tests
Educational differences in mortality and the relative importance of different causes of death
BACKGROUND: The evidence on mortality patterns by education in Spain comes from regional areas. This study aimed to estimate these patterns in the whole Spanish population. METHODS: All citizens aged 25 years and over and residing in Spain in 2001 were followed during 7 years to determine their vital status, resulting in a total of 196,470,401 person-years and 2,379,558 deaths. We estimated the age-adjusted total and cause-specific mortality by e…
Low HIV testing uptake following diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection in Spain
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are recognized as one of the conditions in which HIV testing is most clearly indicated. We analyse whether people diagnosed with an STI are being tested for HIV according to the experience of participants in an outreach rapid testing programme in Spain. Between 2008 and 2010, 6293 individuals underwent rapid testing and completed a self-administered questionnaire. We calculated the percentage of individuals …
Knowledge and use of unauthorized HIV self-test kits among men who have sex with men in Spain, following approval of an over-the-counter self-test in the U.S
Both knowledge and use of unauthorized HIV self-testing among MSM in Spain was very low among HIV negative or untested MSM in Spain. The recent approval in the United Kingdom and France might increase the number of MSM seeking such testing and possibly using unauthorized test kits not meeting quality standards
HIV Rapid Testing Programs in Non-Clinical Settings have the Potential to Constitute a Major Diagnostic Option for MSM in Spain
Changes in directly alcohol-attributable mortality during the great recession by employment status in Spain
Background Macroeconomic fluctuations can impact differentially on alcohol-related problems across sociodemographic groups. We assess trend changes in directly alcohol-attributable (DAA) mortality in the population aged 25–64 during the post-2008 recession in Spain according to employment status and other sociodemographic factors. Methods Nationwide cohort study covering 21.9 million people living in Spain in 2001. People were classified by emplo…
The limits of single-group interrupted time series analysis in assessing the impact of smoke-free laws on short-term mortality
The incorporation of HIV self-testing as an exclusive option among men who have sex with men in Spain
HIV self-testing could become the exclusive testing option for more than a third of our participants. It was chosen as the exclusive option especially by older, at risk and under-tested MSM. Self-testing strategies need to especially consider the linkage to care process. In this sense, only a small fraction would not know how to react and virtually nobody reported taking no action if obtaining a reactive result
High risk men who have sex with men in Spain are reporting low intentions of actively seeking HIV testing
We identified a group of high risk and undertested MSM that could be behind a substantial proportion of the UAIs with potential of transmission/acquisition of HIV. Given their low willingness to seek an HIV test and low risk perception, they constitute a population that will probably require approaches other than client initiated strategies
Association of Sexualized Drug Use Patterns with HIV/STI Transmission Risk in an Internet Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Seven European Countries
Injection of Anabolic Steroids in Men Who Had Sex with Men in Madrid and Barcelona
This study describes the prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) injection, their main correlates, and the prevalence of specific AAS injection risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM), an area insufficiently addressed in scientific research. Participants were HIV-negative MSM attending four HIV/STI diagnosis services: two clinics and two community programmes in Madrid and Barcelona. Participants answered an online self-admin…
Preference towards HIV Self-Testing above Other Testing Options in a Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men from Five European Countries
We analyzed men who have sex with men (MSM) from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain to identify who would choose HIV self-testing as their preferred testing method and assessed their preferred setting to acquire a self-testing kit and to confirm a reactive result. In 2016, we recruited an online sample of 3725 HIV-negative MSM. We used Poisson regression to identify factors associated with choosing self-testing as the preferred testing …
Opinions towards Key Operational Aspects for the Implementation of HIV Self-Testing in Spain
We assessed previous knowledge about the existence of HIV self-testing of stakeholders in Spain, as well as their personal position towards this methodology. We also assessed their views on potential users' (PU) opinions towards several key operational aspects surrounding self-testing, and compared them to those expressed by a sample of PU comprised of men who have sex with men. In 2017, we recruited three types of stakeholders: public health pro…
Sexualized drug use among men who have sex with men in Madrid and Barcelona
This original study compares the prevalences of drug use for any purpose and for sexualized drug use (SDU) among MSM. It also describes relevant characteristics of first SDU, analyzes to what extent SDU has been the first experience (the gateway) with different drugs by age and explores the correlates of SDU. Study participants included 2,919 HIV-negative MSM attending four HIV/STI diagnosis services in Madrid and Barcelona. They answered an onli…
Awareness and Use of HIV Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Remains Low in Spain 2 Years After Its Authorization
Objectives: HIV self-testing has been available in Spain since 2017 as a diagnostic tool to promote earlier diagnosis. We aimed to assess awareness and previous use of HIV self-testing in a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) recruited online more than 2 years after its legal authorization in Spain. Methods: We analyzed 5,492 MSM recruited between May and July 2020 in gay dating apps/websites and other social networks. We estimated the prop…
Estimating the Prevalence of Recreational Opioid Use in Spain Using a Multiplier Method
Knowledge and Prior Use of HIV Self-Testing in Madrid and Barcelona among Men Who Have Sex with Men More than One Year after Its Legal Authorization in Spain
This study assessed the knowledge and prior use of HIV self-testing in a sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) recruited in a sexual health clinic and two community-based testing sites in Madrid and Barcelona, >12 months after its legal authorization. Between March 2019 and December 2020, we recruited 2044 MSM. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire while waiting to be tested for HIV and other STIs. We built two Poisson regr…
Educational Gradients in Drinking Amount and Heavy Episodic Drinking among Working-Age Men and Women in Spain
Alcohol-related harm decreases as socioeconomic position increases, although sometimes the opposite happens with alcohol intake. The objective was to know the educational gradient in monthly measures of drinking amount and heavy episodic drinking (HED) among people aged 25−64 years in Spain from 1997−2017. Such gradient was characterized with the relative percent change (PC) in drinking measures per year of education from generalized linear regre…
Abrupt peaks in perceived risk of occasional drug use after changing the question order in a repeated self-administered survey
Background: Question-order changes in repeated surveys can distort comparisons. We want to describe the evolution of drug risk perceptions among Spanish adolescents and assessing whether the 2006 peaks in perceived risk of occasional drug use can be explained by question-order changes. Methods: The subjects were secondary students from a biennial national survey during 2000-2012. A one-off intervention was applied in 2006, replacing the two-adjac…
Assessing educational disparities in Covid-19 related excess mortality in Spain
Introduction: Data on the increase in mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic based on individuals' socioeconomic positions are limited. This study examines this increase in mortality in Spain during the epidemic waves of 2020 and 2021. Methods: We calculated the overall and cause-specific mortality rates during the 2017-2019 pre-pandemic period and four epidemic periods in 2020 and 2021 (first, second, third-fourth, and fifth-sixth waves). Mortal…
Gaps in HIV and Hepatitis C Testing Among 3486 HIV-Negative Men Who have Sex with Men in Spain in the Era of Highly Effective Antiviral Therapies
Medicine (30 works) · Demography (27 works) · Environmental health (25 works) · Population (24 works) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (22 works) · Family medicine (18 works) · Gerontology (16 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (16 works) · Men who have sex with men (14 works) · Public health (13 works)