title: Determinants of alcohol consumption in HIV-uninfected injection drug users.
abstract: We assess the association between time fixed and time varying participant characteristics and subsequent alcohol consumption in 1968 injection drug users (median age 37 years, 28% female, 90% African-American) followed semi-annually from 1988 to 2008. Median alcohol consumption was seven drinks per week at study entry (first and third quartile: 1, 26) with 36% reporting binge drinking. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking decreased over follow-up. Older individuals and women reported consuming fewer drinks per week. Higher typical alcohol consumption was reported by those participants who reported in the prior 6 months: non-injection cocaine use, injection drug use, having one or more sex partners, or among men, a same sex partner. Associations were generally similar for drinks per week and binge drinking. This study demonstrates that in a large urban cohort of persons with a history of injection drug use, risky drug use and sexual risk behavior are associated with subsequent alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, The Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Petra M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Ostrow
authors.forename: Shruti H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Kirk
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*