Initiation to methamphetamine use among women in the U.S./Mexico border

Objectives: To examine patterns of initiation to methamphetamine (MA) among women users recruited in drug treatment facilities in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico. Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of drug using and sexual risk behaviors. Results: 54 and 40 women were recruited in San Diego and Tijuana, respectively. Standard statistical analyses, including logistic regression, were used to identify differential presentation of risk factors. Results: Mean age was 37 and 25 years in San Diego and Tijuana, respectively. In San Diego, 28% were Latinas, 26% African-American, 17% whites, and 26% were other/mixed race/ethnicity. Forty-eight percent of San Diego subjects and 22% of Tijuana women reported having ever lived in both countries. Of these bi-national subgroups 63% and 42% of the women reported using drugs while living on the other side of the border. Women in Mexico reported a younger initiation age (21 yrs. vs. 23 yrs.). Multivariate analysis shows that women in San Diego were more likely to have smoked marijuana upon MA initiation when compared to their Tijuana counterparts (OR = 3.4; 90% C.I. 1.1; 11.3). Women in Tijuana were also more likely to have rejected use of MA before they were initiated (OR = 3.0; 95% C.I. 1.0; 8.5). Discussion: Despite the growing public health challenge of methamphetamine use on both sides of the Mexico/California border, important differences exist in patterns of drug use among women MA users. Tailored interventions should be developed from a bi-national perspective to address the cross-border impact of substance abuse in the U.S./Mexico border region.