Prevalence and predictors of HCV related risk behaviors in recent and prolonged injection drug users in Metropolitan San Juan, Puerto Rico

Considering that Puerto Ricans are undergoing a public health problem with respect to HCV infection, an endemic infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) in response to risk behaviors conducted, and that there is a high frequency of drug injection in settings where sterile injection equipment are low, it is essential to understand the burden of risk behaviors and its correlates. This study assessed the prevalence of risk behaviors within recent and prolonged IDUs (study groups) and examined correlates of risk behaviors in IDUs aged 18 years at least living in the San Juan Metropolitan Area. We analyzed data from the cross-sectional study, entitled 'The PR drug abuse research development program' that used a sample of 400 IDUs. IDUs were classified as recent (<3 years of injection) and prolonged (>3 years of injection). Overall prevalence of sharing water within study groups was 48% and 63.3%, respectively; prevalence of sharing a cooker within study groups was 50% and 66.7%, respectively; and prevalence of sharing syringes within study groups was 28.4% and 37%, respectively. Binary logistic regression showed that prolonged injectors were more likely to share water, the cooker and syringes compared to recent injectors after adjusting for gender and homelessness (OR:1.86; 95%CI:1.18-2.93, OR:2.03; 95%CI:1.28-3.22 and OR:1.53; 95%CI:0.93-2.51, respectively). Comprehensive efforts to prevent risky practices should address social and environmental contexts of injection, considering differences in IDUs according to their years of injection.