Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118519

Micaela H. Coady, MS¹, Mary Latka, PhD¹, Sharon M. Hudson, PhD², Jennifer Vernon Campbell, MSPH³, Susan L. Bailey, PhD⁴, Steffanie A. Strathdee, PhD⁵, Evie Andreopoulos¹, and Richard S. Garfein, PhD, MPH⁶. (1) Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029, 212-822-7277, mcoady@nyam.org, (2) Health Research Association, 1111 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90038, (3) HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Program, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 106 Prefontaine Place South, Seattle, WA 98104, (4) Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612, (5) Division of International Health and Cross Cultural Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Ash Building, La Jolla, CA 92093-0622, (6) Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Division of International Health and Cross Cultural Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, Mailstop 0622, San Diego, CA 92093

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and correlates of recent drug treatment among young IDUs recruited from 5 U.S. cities, and to assess whether drug treatment was associated with reduced sexual risk. Methods: Baseline interviews were conducted among IDUs 15-30 years old. Logistic regression was used to examine factors independently associated with drug treatment within the past 3 months and to explore the association between drug treatment and sexual behaviors. Results: Of 3275 subjects, mean age was 24 years, 69% male, 64% White, 61% less than high school education, 49% homeless and 34% HCV positive. Less than half (40%) had recently received drug treatment, most commonly non-pharmacological outpatient programs. In multivariate analysis, compared to those never treated, female gender [(OR(95%CI): 1.30(1.06-1.60)], ever incarcerated [(1.39(1.14-1.70)], sex work [(1.79(1.46-2.20)], 4+ years injecting [(1.45(1.21-1.74)], injecting daily [(1.33(1.12-1.59)], and syringe/paraphernalia sharing [(1.30(1.05-1.62)] were associated with recent drug treatment, while daily alcohol users [(0.54(0.40-0.74)] and those with less than high school education [(0.79(0.66-0.94)] were less likely to be in treatment. Drug treatment was associated with less consistent condom use with casual partners [(0.70(0.51-0.96)], and was not associated with number of sex partners [(1.03(0.80-1.33)]. Conclusions: Drug treatment was more common among more experienced, riskier IDUs yet it was not associated with reduced sexual risk. Drug treatment programs appear to be serving a riskier subset of IDUs and could provide an opportunity to implement sexual risk reduction interventions for young IDUs.

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