title: Benzodiazepine Use and Hepatitis C Seroconversion in a Cohort of Persons Who Inject Drugs.
abstract: To examine the relationship between benzodiazepine (BZD) use and HCV seroconversion in 2 linked prospective cohorts of persons who inject drugs (PWID).
  
  
  
  We examined prospective cohorts of 440 PWID (baseline BZD users: n = 102; 23.2%) from the AIDS Care Cohort to Evaluate Access to Survival Services (ACCESS) and the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study (VIDUS) cohorts, followed-up from 1996 to 2013 in Vancouver, Canada.
  
  
  
  At baseline, the prevalence of HCV was higher among those who used BZD (80.5% vs 61.5%; P < .001). After adjustment, BZD use remained independently associated with increased rates of HCV seroconversion (adjusted rate ratio = 1.67; 95% confidence interval = 1.05, 2.66).
  
  
  
  BZD use is independently associated with HCV seroconversion in a population of PWID.
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Paxton
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Walton
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Kanna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: M-J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Milloy
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Huiru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montaner
authors.affiliation: Paxton Bach, Geoffrey Walton, M-J Milloy, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Kanna Hayashi, Huiru Dong, Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner, and Evan Wood are with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000069078:Seroconversion; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001569:Benzodiazepines