IJE Advance Access published online on October 28, 2004
International Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/ije/dyh347
© 2004 by International Epidemiological Association
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Addiction Service, Bridge House, Cherry Orchard Hospital, Dublin 10, Ireland
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Background The incidence of hepatitis C (HCV) infection among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Dublin is particularly high by international standards. The most robust predictor of an IDU's HCV status is his or her total number of lifetime injecting episodes. It has been proposed that participation in specific unsafe injecting practices is the principal contributor to this accumulated risk. We sought to test this hypothesis. The relationship between social context of injecting and HCV status was also examined. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of IDUs recruited from treatment settings in Dublin. Participants had injected in the preceding six months and had not previously been tested for HCV. A structured interview was conducted. Results HCV testing was performed on 159 IDUs, and 61% were antibody positive. The three characteristics that were significant independent predictors of a positive test result were increased total number of lifetime injecting episodes, closer social relationships with other IDUs, and injecting in the home of other IDUs. Frequency of recipient syringe sharing (i.e. borrowing used syringes from other IDUs), backloading, and sharing of injecting paraphernalia were not independently associated with infection. Conclusions We found that the robust association between HCV infection and number of lifetime injecting episodes was not explained by increased unsafe injecting practices. The socialized nature of heroin injecting in Dublin is contributing to the HCV epidemic in this population. Our findings suggest that accidental and unnoticed sharing of injecting equipment may be an important contributor to an IDU's increasing risk of infection over time.
Article
Irish injecting drug users and hepatitis C: the importance of the social context of injecting
2 Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Bobby P. Smyth, E-mail: bobby.smyth{at}swahb.ie
Abstract 
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. Platt, A. J. Sutton, P. Vickerman, E. Koshkina, S. Maximova, N. Latishevskaya, M. Hickman, C. Bonell, J. Parry, and T. Rhodes Measuring risk of HIV and HCV among injecting drug users in the Russian Federation Eur J Public Health, August 1, 2009; 19(4): 428 - 433. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P Vickerman, L Platt, and S Hawkes Modelling the transmission of HIV and HCV among injecting drug users in Rawalpindi, a low HCV prevalence setting in Pakistan Sex Transm Inf, April 1, 2009; 85(Suppl_2): ii23 - ii30. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M C Mendes-Correa, N P Cavalheiro, C Mello, A A Barone, and R J Gianini Genotypic distribution of hepatitis C among hepatitis C and HIV co-infected patients in Brazil Int J STD AIDS, September 1, 2008; 19(9): 595 - 599. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C.-Q. Wang, Y. Li, S. D. Douglas, X. Wang, D. S. Metzger, T. Zhang, and W.-Z. Ho Morphine Withdrawal Enhances Hepatitis C Virus Replicon Expression Am. J. Pathol., November 1, 2005; 167(5): 1333 - 1340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|