title: Cocaine use and syphilis trends: findings from the arrestee drug abuse monitoring (ADAM) program and syphilis epidemiology in Houston.
abstract: There has been speculation that trends in syphilis have been fueled by crack cocaine use. This study examined the data on syphilis notifications and arrestee drug abuse monitoring (ADAM) to ascertain the relationships between syphilis and cocaine use trends in three racial/ethnic groups. Syphilis notifications and data from the ADAM project were compared in Houston/Harris County, Texas, from 1991-1998 using a linear regression equation. Data indicated significant relationships between the data for cocaine use and syphilis in African Americans but not Hispanics or non-Hispanic whites. For African Americans, 58% of the variance between cocaine use and syphilis was explained. When data limited to jail syphilis notifications and ADAM cocaine in African Americans were examined, the association was stronger for males than for females. For African Americans, cocaine (probably crack cocaine) use trends were significantly associated with syphilis trends in this population. These data suggest that control of crack cocaine may have an impact on syphilis rates and that there may be close relationships between some STDs and drug abuse.
authors.affiliation: WHO Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, University of Texas-Houston, Houston, Texas 77225, USA. michael.w.ross@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Risser
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Regina J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013781:Texas; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine