Risk factors for HCV infection among young adults in rural New York who inject prescription opioid analgesics

J.E. Zibbell, R. Hart-Malloy, J. Barry, L. Fan and C. Flanigan

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 11, 2226-2232

Abstract: Objectives. We investigated a cluster of new hepatitis C cases in rural New York among a cohort of young people who inject drugs (PWID) and misuse prescription opioid analgesics (POA). Methods. We recruited a purposive sample of PWID from Cortland County for an in-person survey and HCV rapid antibody test (March-July 2012). We examined sociodemographics, drugs currently injected, and lifetime and recent injection behaviors to ascertain associations with HCV antibody (anti-HCV) positivity. Results. Of 123 PWID, 76 (61.8%) were younger than 30 years, and 100 (81.3%) received HCV rapid testing. Of those tested, 34 (34.0%) were positive. Participants who reported injecting POA in the past 12 months were 5 times more likely to be anti-HCV positive than those who injected drugs other than POA, and participants who reported sharing injection equipment in the past 12 months were roughly 4 times more likely to be anti-HCV positive than those who did not. Conclusions. Our analysis suggests people injecting POA may be at higher risk for HCV infection than people who inject heroin or other drugs but not POA. © 2014, American Public Health Association Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: narcotic analgesic agent, adolescent; adult; age; complication; epidemiology; female; hepatitis C; human; male; Prescription Drug Misuse; risk factor; rural population; statistics and numerical data; substance abuse; United States; young adult, Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Analgesics, Opioid; Female; Hepatitis C; Humans; Male; New York; Prescription Drug Misuse; Risk Factors; Rural Population; Substance Abuse, Intravenous; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2014.302142_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302142

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