Freeman R, Williams ML; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 1045 (abstract no. 60254).
Nova Research Company, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
OBJECTIVES: This study identifies demographic and behavioral factors associated with daily injection of amphetamine among US injection drug users (IDUs) in an attempt to determine whether high-frequency amphetamine injection is associated with elevated HIV risk. METHODS: This report is based on self-reported data gathered in interviews with a US national sample of 13,215 not-in-treatment IDUs interviewed in 10 cities between 1988 and 1992. RESULTS: Slightly over 2 percent of the sample reported daily amphetamine injection. These IDUs tended to be male, Caucasian, 26-35 years of age, with less than a high school education, and living in the western region of the US 51% of these IDUs also were injecting cocaine every day; about 9% injected amphetamines exclusively. Among the 61.5% tested for HIV-antibody, slightly under 5% were HIV-positive. In logistic regression, 17 variables were retained as independent predictors of daily amphetamine injection, including: Caucasian race; > or = 5 years of drug injection experience; no drug treatment experience in past 5 years; daily noninjected amphetamine use; daily barbiturate use; daily marijuana use; any PCP use in last six months; daily injected cocaine use; no current injected heroin use; injecting all drugs > or = 4 times per day; predominantly injecting in abandoned buildings; predominantly injecting at a friends' place; sharing needles with a sex partner; any injection at social gatherings in last 6 months; having > 5 sexual partners in last 6 months; poor self-perceived health; and study recruitment at a western US site. The strongest predictors of daily amphetamine injection were daily noninjected amphetamine use, western recruitment site, daily barbiturate use, and current PCP use. CONCLUSIONS: While high-frequency amphetamine injectors are not distinguishable from other IDUs on most dimensions of HIV-related injection risk, they do appear to be at elevated HIV risk due to frequent injection, frequent injection in abandoned buildings, and needle sharing with sex partners. As daily injection of amphetamines also was associated with no current injected heroin use, such injectors may remain different enough from heroin and cocaine injectors to require special HIV prevention efforts.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Vaccines
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Amphetamine
- Amphetamine-Related Disorders
- HIV Antibodies
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Heroin
- Male
- Needle Sharing
- Sexual Partners
- Substance-Related Disorders
Other ID:
UI: 102232205
From Meeting Abstracts