Table 3 Characteristics of substance use among HCV antibody positive and negative PWID
Substance use characteristics | Total (n = 286) | HCV antibody test result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Positive (n = 87) | Negative (n = 199) | |||
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | P valuea | |
Median months using drugs (IQR) | 49 (16–120) | 96 (36–132) | 36 (12–120) | < 0.001 |
Mode of first drug use—injecting | 104 (50.3) | 51 (58.6) | 93 (46.7) | 0.06 |
Injecting drugs in the past 3Â months | 250 (88.0) | 84 (96.6) | 166 (84.3) | 0.003 |
Type of drugs most commonly used in the past 3Â months | ||||
 Heroin | 156 (61.9) | 67 (79.8) | 89 (53.0) | < 0.001 |
 Yama/ice (methamphetamine) | 60 (23.8) | 21 (25.0) | 39 (23.2) | 0.75 |
 Ecstasy | 9 (3.6) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (5.4) | 0.27 |
Always used new syringes/needles in the past 3Â months | 112 (66.7) | 27 (61.4) | 85 (68.5) | 0.54 |
Used needles/syringes used by someone else in the past 3Â months | 37 (21.6) | 8 (18.2) | 29 (22.8) | 0.31 |
Having been sent to a drug rehabilitation center in the past 12 months | 119 (41.6) | 55 (63.2) | 64 (32.2) | < 0.001 |
Having received methadone maintenance therapy in the past 12 months | 125 (43.7) | 68 (78.2) | 57 (28.6) | < 0.001 |
Alcohol drinking ≥ 3 times per week | 84 (29.4) | 13 (14.9) | 71 (35.7) | < 0.001 |
Binge drinking ≥ 3times per week (n = 171) | 83 (48.5) | 13 (36.1) | 70 (51.9) | 0.09 |