Refining HIV Risk: The Modifying Effects of Youth,Gender and Education among People Who Inject Drugs in Poland |
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| Authors: | Michal Czerwinski Louise-Anne McNutt Jack A DeHovitz Andrzej Zielinski Magdalena Rosinska |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.; 2. Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, SUNY School of Public Health, Albany, New York, United States of America.; 3. Department of Medicine, SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America.; Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, United States of America, |
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| Abstract: | ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to examine specific factors placing young (aged <30) women who inject drugs at higher risk for HIV, and to establish the need for targeted interventions within this population.MethodsA national cross-sectional sero-survey was conducted in 2004–2005 in six regions in Poland. A snowball sample of ever-injectors was recruited from drug treatment facilities and the surrounding community. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs).ResultsA total of 491 injection drug users younger than 30 were recruited, of whom 159 were women and 332 were men. The prevalence of HIV was 16.4% and 9.6% among women and men, respectively. In multivariate analysis, young female injectors whose education terminated at the primary level were more likely to be HIV-positive compared to males with a similar level of education (PR = 3.34, 95% CI = 1.86–6.00) and more highly educated women (PR = 4.16, 95% CI = 2.21–7.82).ConclusionsThis study confirms an elevated risk of HIV among under-educated young women. Suggestions for specific interventions to reduce HIV transmission are presented. Additional research is needed to quantify the differential distribution of risk behaviors which amplify their likelihood of transmission. |
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