Martinez R, Colon HM, Robles RR, Matos TD, Diaz N, Cole GE, MacGowan RJ; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24; 8: C286 (abstract no. PoC 4249).
OBJECTIVE: Factors associated with HIV seropositivity among drug injectors entering treatment in Puerto Rico are assessed. METHODS: Study subjects comprise consenting injection drug users (IDUs) undergoing drug abuse detoxification. Participants are provided non-blinded, voluntary counselling, HIV testing and a thorough risk assessment. The Risk Assessment Questionnaire (developed by the Centers for Disease Control, CDC) plus an additional set of questions designed by the investigators is administered before the counselling sessions. The data presented in this report was derived from 390 IDUs interviewed from October 1990 to August 1991, of whom 305 (78.2%) agreed to be tested for HIV, and 77.0% of these received the HIV test results. RESULTS: More than two thirds (69.2%) had been previously admitted to a formal drug treatment program. IDUs with treatment experience had a mean number of 3 previous admissions; the mean time period elapsed since the last treatment episode was close to 15 months. Thirty percent of the tested participants were seropositive. Of the sex risk factors considered, sexual contact with an IDU was associated to seropositivity. Participants who reported having had sex with another IDU since 1978 were almost twice as likely to be seropositive as those not reporting this behavior. Drug injection during more than 5 years, injection with used needles in jails, and injection with used needles in cities in the Mainland United States were the behavioral factors associated to seropositivity in the drug injection risk domain. The adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of a multivariate logistic regression on HIV seropositivity show that number of years of drug injection was the strongest correlate. IDUs injecting during 6 to 10 years and during more than 10 years were 3.5 and 5 times, respectively, more likely to be HIV seropositive than those injecting drugs for a shorter period of time. Unsafe needle use within penal institutions was also highly correlated to seropositivity. Homo/bisexual sex was the other risk factor independently associated with seropositivity. CONCLUSIONS: This study, as well as our earlier study of out of treatment drug injectors, has been crucial in defining the HIV epidemic as well as the risk factors associated with this illness in Puerto Rico. This project confirms the CDC AIDS data, and further documents the need for aggressive prevention programs among IDUs and their significant others so as to be able to arrest the spread of the epidemic.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Logistic Models
- Needles
- Odds Ratio
- Puerto Rico
- Risk Factors
- Substance Abuse, Intravenous
- Substance-Related Disorders
- United States
- therapy
Other ID:
UI: 102199673
From Meeting Abstracts