Continued high risk behaviors in HIV infected drug abusersShow others and affiliations
2002 (English)In: Journal of Addictive Diseases, ISSN 1055-0887, E-ISSN 1545-0848, Vol. 21, no 4, p. 67-80Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
To characterize current risk behaviors of HIV drug abusers in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, socio-demographic, medical and behavioral information were obtained and immune measurements determined. High-risk sexual practices were prevalent. Participants diagnosed before 1995 were 6 times more likely to have unprotected sex with HIV+ partners (p = 0.05) and 11 times more likely to use contaminated needles (p = 0.05) than participants with later diagnosis. Consistent condom use was reported by only 7% of the cohort. Many (43%) of the participants reported multiple HIV+ and HIV- concurrent partners. Most (65%), particularly women (OR = 3, p = 0.02), did so for drugs or money. Despite detectable viral loads, 36% reported unprotected anal sex. Antiretroviral-treated men, compared to non-treated, tended to have unprotected anal sex (OR = 2, p = 0.07). The continued high-risk behaviors of HIV drug users, particularly those diagnosed before 1995 and/or on antiretroviral therapy, indicates an urgent need for new public health strategies.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2002. Vol. 21, no 4, p. 67-80
Keywords [en]
relapse, drug abusers, HIV, long-term survivors, HAART
National Category
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27955DOI: 10.1300/J069v21n04_07ISI: 000178711900007PubMedID: 12296503Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-0036403010OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-27955DiVA, id: diva2:854395
2015-09-162015-09-162025-10-13Bibliographically approved