Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and associated risk behaviour in injection drug users in Toronto.
During 1989-90, interviews were conducted with 582 current injection drug users in the City of Toronto, 535 of whom also provided blood and/or saliva for anonymous unlinked HIV antibody testing. The rate of seropositivity identified was 4.3% (95% CI 3-6). The subjects were predominantly male, with a mean age of 28.3. The commonest drug of choice was cocaine (70%). Forty-six percent of the subjects reported using someone else's needle in the preceding six months, 60% of these indicating that they always cleaned it first. Eighty-one percent of those interviewed had been in jail at some time since they began injecting; 25% of these had injected while in custody, and of these 61% had shared injection equipment. Eighty-two percent of the men and 85.4% of the women reported opposite sex partners in the previous six months. Only about 20% of men reported consistent condom use, while 22% of females reported condom use at least 75% of the time.
Millson
P
P
Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Biostatistics, University of Toronto.
Myers
T
T
Rankin
J
J
McLaughlin
B
B
Major
C
C
Mindell
W
W
Coates
R
R
Rigby
J
J
Strathdee
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*