Prevalence and correlates of needle-sharing among new and long-term injection drug users in southwest China.
Three community-based surveys recruited 4,310 injection drug users (IDUs) in China from 2004 to 2006. Of the participants, 54.4% were ≤ 3-year new IDUs; 63.9% reported injecting more than two times daily; 31.5% shared needles in the last six months; 37.4% shared equipments in the last month; 30.2% reported their regular sex partners injected drugs; and 23.5% had commercial sex, with 52.2% reporting no condom use during last sex. The risky injection practices (sharing needles/equipments and high injection frequency) were less frequent among new IDUs, emphasizing that effective prevention needs to identify and intervene with IDUs early on. The study's limitations are noted.
Zhang
Linglin
L
Institute for AIDS/STI Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, PR China.
Li
Jie
J
Lai
Wenhong
W
Feng
Liao
L
Zeng
Yali
Y
Liu
Li
L
Hu
Ying
Y
Liu
Jianbo
J
Zhang
Xiaolin
X
Wu
Pingsheng
P
Vermund
Sten H
SH
Jia
Yujiang
Y
D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D055815:Young Adult