Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Injection Drug Users in the U.S. By
Liz Highleyman  Hepatitis
C virus (HCV) infection is common among injection drug users (IDUs) because
the virus is easily transmitted via shared needles and other drug preparation
and injection equipment.
As reported in the June 15, 2008 issue of Clinical
Infectious Diseases, Joseph Amon with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and colleagues examined HCV seroprevalence among IDUs in 4 U.S.
cities between 1994 and 2004.
The study included 5088 IDUs aged 18-40
years from Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City enrolled in 3 related
studies:
•
Collaborative Injection Drug User Study (CIDUS) I (1994-1996);
•
CIDUS II (1997-1999);
•
CIDUS III/Drug User
Intervention Trial (2002-2004).
The
researchers assessed participants' demographic characteristics, behaviors, and
prevalence of positive HCV antibodies. Trends over time were calculated using
logistic regression.
Results
•
The prevalence of HCV
infection was 65% in CIDUS I, 35% in CIDUS II, and 35% in CIDUS III.
•
The adjusted odds ratio
(OR) of being HCV antibody positive increased with the number of years of injection
drug use:
-
OR 1.93 for
each year of injecting within the first 2 years;
-
OR 1.09 for
each year of injecting beyond the first 2 years.
•
Significant decreases
were observed in HCV seroprevalence between CIDUS I and CIDUS III in Baltimore
(OR 0.30) and Los Angeles (OR 0.17), and among IDUs of non-black race/ethnicity
in Chicago (OR 0.12).
•
However, no decrease
in prevalence was seen in New York City (OR 1.04) or among black IDUs in Chicago
(OR 0.55).
Based
on these findings, the investigators concluded that, "Although regional differences
exist, our data suggest that the incidence of HCV infection among injection drug
users in the United States decreased from 1994 through 2004."
Divisions
of Viral Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta,
GA; University of California at San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, CA;
Health Research Association, Hollywood, CA; Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health, Los Angeles, CA; School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago,
Chicago, IL; New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY; Baron Edmond de Rothschild
Chemical Dependency Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY. 7/11/08 Reference
 JJ
Amon, RS Garfein, L Ahdieh-Grant, and others. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus
Infection among Injection Drug Users in the United States, 1994-2004. Clinical
Infectious Diseases 46(12): 1852-1858. June 15, 2008. (Abstract) |
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