Differences in prevalence of HIV and HCV between blacks and whites based on patterns of injection and non-injection drug users in Baltimore City

Abstract

s / Drug and Alcohol Dependence 140 (2014) e86–e168 e101 Differences in prevalence of HIV and HCV between blacks and whites based on patterns of injection and non-injection drug users in Baltimore City Larry Keen, W.W. Latimer Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States Aims: The current study examineddifferences in the prevalence of viral hepatitis C and HIV disease between Blacks and Whites adults in Baltimore City across three subtypes of drug users identified in previous research (Harrell et al., 2012): crack/nasal heroin users, heroin injectors, and polysubstance users. Methods: This study was a part of an ongoing NIDA-funded NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic study, a longitudinal study to identify neuropsychological and social-behavioral HIV risk factors among injection and non-injection drug users. Results: The subsample of 482 participants included 284 men (58.9%) and 198 women (41.1%). Approximately half of the participants self-identified as White (n=244), while the rest selfidentified as Black (n=238). There were significant differences between classes based on race (X2 (2, N=482) =97.84, p= .00) and HCV (X2 (2, N=482) =140.87, p= .00). Differences indicated that crack/nasal heroin users were predominantly Black (74.9%), while heroin injectors and polysubstance users were predominantly white (71.5% and 68.9%). Polysubstance users accounted for over half of the HCV positive diagnoses (56.5%) in Whites. Blacks HCV diagnoses were somewhat evenly spread across the groups. Though HIV did not differ significantly between groups, the Crack/Nasal Heroin contained over half (52.4%) of the 42 HIV positive diagnoses in the sample. Conclusions: Black drug users in this sample were characterized by significantly lower rates of IDU compared to whites. Since the vastmajority of the current sample is heterosexual, the findings suggest heterosexual sex as the primary mode of HIV transmission for Black drug users. In contrast,White drug usersweremore prone to HCV compared to Black drug users, which is attributable to their higher rate of IDU. The current study findings provide further support that heterosexual transmission of HIV is a primary vector of disease transmission among African American drug users who predominantly do not inject drugs and thereby may help to inform targets of disease prevention. Financial support: NIDA: RO1 DA 14498. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.02.291 Daysimeter feasibility and acceptability in a polysubstance-using population Ashley Kennedy1, M. Rea2, M. Figueiro2, Michelle L. Jobes1, D. Epstein1, Kenzie L. Preston1 1 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States 2 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, United