Factors associated with recent-onset injection drug use among drug users in Pakistan.
Seventy-two recent-onset injection drug users and 241 non-injection drug users were recruited in Quetta and Lahore, Pakistan, in 2003. Trained interviewers administered questionnaires regarding drug use behaviors and perceived changes in drug cost/supply. Logistic regression identified independent correlates of recent-onset injection. In Lahore, a perceived increase in drug cost was associated with higher odds of recent-onset injection, with no association in Quetta. Recent-onset injection was also associated with family history of drug use, group drug use, and sharing snorting/chasing tools. Changes in perception of the drug supply may be associated with recent-onset injection drug use. Familial/social influences were also associated with recent-onset injection, suggesting peer-led interventions could discourage transition to injection drug use.
Kuo
Irene
I
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, USA. ikuo@jhsph.edu
Ul-Hasan
Salman
S
Zafar
Tariq
T
Galai
Noya
N
Sherman
Susan G
SG
Strathdee
Steffanie A
SA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*