Circuit parties: a funny danger or a dangerous fun?

Background A circuit party is usually a multi-event weekend that occurs each year at around the same time and in the same town or city and centers on one or more large, late night dance events that often have a theme. The typical CP involves several social events, culminating in a main dance event during which thousands of gay/bisexual men may dance and socialize for 24 continuous hours or longer. The aim of this review was to analyze all the available literature on this topic, in order to highlight the hidden dangers that these parties could reserve, and promote efficient strategies to reduce these risks. Methods A systematic literature search (English written literature) was conducted in electronic database MEDLINE without any temporal limit and using the term “circuit party”. Only articles reporting cross sectional studies about the circuit parties were analyzed. Articles in other languages, or which reported data different from the purpose of the review were excluded. Results 10 articles were included in our systematic review. The articles were published in the period 2001-2015 and reported data about cross sectional studies conducted on samples ranging from 173 to 13883 gay or bisexual men. The HIV prevalence among men who attended the CPs was very high, ranging from 6% to 40.8%. Very frequent was the association with other risk factors, especially unsafe sex and multiple sexual partners. The use of drugs is very frequent during these parties: ecstasy, methamphetamine, ketamine and cocaine were the most used. Conclusions The noticeable risk profile of men who visit gay destinations, especially to attend circuit parties, represent a problem that should be managed in an efficient way. Catching them before nightlife activities could prevent, in a more successfully way, the taking place of a HIV risk behavior or the drugs use, compared to targeting these men while they are engaged in nightlife activities. Key messages: Drugs abuse during circuit parties is very high. Drugs abuse and risky behaviors increase the possibilities to contract sexually transmitted infectious diseases.