title: Higher risk of incident hepatitis C virus among young women who inject drugs compared with young men in association with sexual relationships: a prospective analysis from the UFO Study cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Female injection drug users (IDUs) may report differences in injection behaviours that put them at greater risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Few studies have examined these in association with HCV incidence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal data from a cohort of 417 HCV-uninfected IDU aged 30 or younger were analysed. Cox proportional hazards was used to model female sex as a predictor of new HCV infection. General estimating equation (GEE) analysis was used to model female sex as a predictor of HCV-associated risk behaviour prospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women were significantly more likely than men to become infected with HCV during study follow-up (HR 1.4, p<0.05), and were also more likely than men to report high-risk injecting behaviours, especially in the context of sexual and injecting relationships. Sex differences in injecting behaviours appeared to explain the relationship between sex and HCV infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young women's riskier injection practices lead to their higher rates of HCV infection. Further study on the impact of intimate partnership on women's risk behaviour is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Crystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuller Lewis
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Alya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Briceño
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: University of California, School of Medicine, Positive Health Program San Francisco General Hospital San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lum
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Public Health