title: HIV prevalence, sociodemographic, and behavioral correlates and recruitment methods among injection drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In St. Petersburg, Russia, we sought to describe the characteristics of active high-risk injection drug users (IDUs) to evaluate the associations between behavioral and demographic characteristics and HIV-1 infection and to describe 3 discrete recruitment methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Active high-risk IDUs were recruited in 3 ways: through street outreach, at facilities serving IDUs, and by network-based chain referral. Recruits were screened, counseled, and tested for HIV-1. Sociodemographic and behavioral data were collected. HIV-1 prevalence was analyzed as a function of sociodemographic and behavioral variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the 10-month recruitment period, data from 900 participants were collected: median age was 24 years, and in the previous month, 96% used heroin and 75% shared needles with others. The baseline HIV prevalence was 30% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27 to 33). Recruitment through social networks was the most productive strategy. HIV-positive individuals were younger, but none of the other sociodemographic or behavioral characteristics differed significantly by HIV status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The estimated HIV prevalence of 30% places St. Petersburg among the worst IDU-concentrated epidemics in Europe. Recruitment through network-based chain referral is a useful method for recruiting active IDUs. Sociodemographic and behavioral links to prevalent HIV infection remain to be elucidated.
authors.affiliation: The Biomedical Center and St. Petersburg State University, 7 Pudozhskaya Street, St. Petersburg, 197110 Russia. biomed@mailbox.alkor.ru
authors.forename: Alla V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Shaboltas
authors.forename: Olga V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Toussova
authors.forename: Irving F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heimer
authors.forename: Sergei V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Verevochkin
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ryder
authors.forename: Kaveh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khoshnood
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Perdue
authors.forename: Benoit R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Masse
authors.forename: Andrei P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kozlov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence / Q000639:trends*; D006556:Heroin Dependence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014505:Urban Population