Prevalence and Correlates of Needle-Sharing Among New and Long-Term Injection Drug Users in Southwest China

Abstract

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.

RÉSUMÉ

Prédominance et corrélations d'aiguille mettant en commun entre de nouveaux et à long terme consommateurs de drogue d'injection dans le sud-ouest de la Chine

Trois aperçus à caractère communautaire ont recruté 4310 consommateurs de drogue d'injection (IDUs) en Chine de 2004 à 2006, respectivement. Des participants, 54.4% étaient ≤3-year nouvel IDUs; 63.9% fois ≥2 de injection rapportées quotidiennement; 31.5% aiguilles partagées en six derniers mois; 37.4% équipements partagés en mois dernier; 30.2% ont rapporté leurs drogues injectées régulières d'associés de sexe; 23.5% ont eu le sexe commercial, avec 52.2% aucune utilisation de condom dans le dernier sexe. Les pratiques en matière risquées d'injection (partageant des aiguilles/équipements et la haute fréquence d'injection) étaient moins fréquentes parmi nouvel IDUs, soulignant que l'empêchement efficace doit identifier et intervenir avec IDUs dès l'abord. Les limitations de l'étude sont notes.

RESUMEN

Predominio y correlativos de la aguja que comparten entre nuevos y de largo plazo consumidores de droga de la inyección en el sudoeste de China

Tres exámenes basados en la Comunidad reclutaron a 4310 consumidores de droga de la inyección (IDUs) en China a partir de 2004 a 2006, respectivamente. De los participantes, 54.4% eran ≤3-year nuevo IDUs; 63.9% veces de inyección divulgadas ≥2 diariamente; 31.5% agujas compartidas en los six meses pasados; 37.4% equipos compartidos en el lastmonth; 30.2% divulgaron sus drogas inyectadas regulares de los socios de sexo; 23.5% tenían sexo comercial, con 52.2% ninguÌn uso del condón en el sexo pasado. Las prácticas aventuradas de la inyección (compartiendo agujas/los equipos y alta frecuencia de la inyección) eran menos frecuentes entre nuevo IDUs, acentuando que la prevención eficaz necesita identificar e intervenir con IDUs a principios de. Las limitaciones del estudio se observan.

Keywords :

• Injection drug user
• needle-sharing
• condom use
• risk factor
• China

THE AUTHORS

Linglin Zhang, MD, MPH, is the Chief Physician and Director of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention, P. R. China, and the Principal Investigator of CHARTS in Sichuan Province. His research interests focus on the infectious diseases epidemiology, harm reduction for substance use and surveillance for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Jie Li, MD, is a candidate of MPH at the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on HIV/AIDS surveillance and HIV-1 recent infection, and survey data analysis.

Wenhong Lai, MD, is a faculty member of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Prevention, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on HIV/AIDS epidemiology, especially baseline estimation of high risk groups and HIV/AIDS trend trace. She ever served as PI of Global Fund Round 4 HIV/AIDS program in Sichuan, established the HIV/AIDS surveillance system of Sichuan.

Liao Feng, MD, is a faculty member of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Prevention, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on HIV/AIDS epidemiology. She's in charge of HIV/AIDS behavior surveillance, sentinel surveillance, partly case reports and ongoing investigation in Sichuan Province.

Yali Zeng, MD, is a faculty member of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Prevention, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on HIV/AIDS epidemiology. She's in charge of HIV/AIDS surveillance, case report, VCT and serving as investigator of ongoing surveys in Sichuan Province.

Li Liu, MD, PhD, is an Associate Chief Physician and Deputy Director of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Prevention. Dr. Li's research interests focus on HIV/AIDS care and prevention, surveillance and modeling, intervention prevention. She serves as the principal investigator of several HIV intervention prevention programs and also serves as the expert member of CHARTS program in Sichuan Province.

Ying Hu, MD, is a faculty member of the Institute for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Sichuan Center for Disease Prevention, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on HIV/AIDS epidemiology. She's in charge of HIV/AIDS surveillance, case report, voluntary counseling and testing and serving as investigator of ongoing surveys in Sichuan Province.

Jianbo Liu, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, P. R. China. His research interests focus on the infectious diseases epidemiology with research on HIV/AIDS and STDs, hepatitis B and TB/HIV coinfection.

Xiaoling Zhang, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, P. R. China. Her research interests focus on the infectious diseases epidemiology.

Pingsheng Wu, PhD, is an experienced statistician and faculty member in the Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Dr. Wu's research interests focus on clinical epidemiology and health services and outcome research.

Sten H. Vermund, MD, DrPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. Dr. Vermund is among America's leading theoreticians and scientists in the field of HIV prevention. Dr. Vermund's research interests lie in infectious disease control and prevention with a focus on developing countries and underserved areas of the southeastern U.S. His publications include fundamental observations in AIDS-related diseases before they were widely recognized to be HIV-related, HIV prevention, and infectous disease epidemiology.

Yujiang Jia, MD, DrPH, is a faculty member and infectious disease epidemiologist at the Vanderbilt University Institute for Global Health and Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Jia's research interests focus on the infectious diseases epidemiology with research on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, harm reduction for substance use, surveillance and modeling, HIV-1 incidence assay validation, and large survey data analysis.