Study Finds Significant Gender Differences In Risk Factors For HIV Infection Among Injection Drug Users.

2001 JUN 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- Significant differences exist in the risk factors men and women face for contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health who conducted a 10-year study of injection drug users living in Baltimore, Maryland.

For women, sexual activity is a greater risk factor for contracting HIV than the sharing of needles, visiting drug shooting galleries, or other aspects of the drug-related lifestyle. However, these same risk factors play a significant role among men for contracting HIV. The findings, which appear in the May 28, 2001, edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest that HIV prevention efforts among drug users should be gender specific.

"Injection drug use directly or indirectly accounts for nearly half of all of the people infected with HIV in the United States each year. We've been very successful at reducing the spread of the disease with needle exchange programs, but our study shows we need more emphasis on preventing the high-risk sexual behaviors," says Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, lead author and associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For the study, researchers analyzed data collected from 1,800 injection-drug users enrolled in the ALIVE (AIDS Link to Intravenous Experience) project. To be included, participants needed to be at least 18 years of age, have a history of injection drug use within the previous 10 years, and show no signs of HIV infection or AIDS at the beginning of the study. Between 1988 and 1998, researchers conducted semi-annual interviews with all of the study participants to collect information on drug use history and sexual behavior. ...