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Table 2 Prescription opioid (PO) and heroin injection history and behavior among young adult PWID (n = 353)

From: Prescription opioid injection among young people who inject drugs in New York City: a mixed-methods description and associations with hepatitis C virus infection and overdose

Variable

Mean (SD), median

n (%)

Opioid use trajectory1

  

 Age at first nonmedical PO use

16.5 (3.0), 16

 

 Age at first heroin use

19.1 (3.5), 19

 

 Age at first heroin injection

20.4 (3.7), 20

 

 Age at first PO injection

20.6 (3.6), 20

 

Drug used at first injection

  

 POs

 

26 (7)

 Heroin

 

289 (82)

 Crack

 

14 (4)

 Other

 

24 (7)

Number of months injected POs regularly2 (lifetime)

10.2 (20.4), 0

 

 0 months

 

261 (74)

 1–12 months

 

48 (14)

 13–36 months

 

29 (8)

  > 36 months

 

15 (4)

Number of months injected heroin regularly2 (lifetime)

34.5 (34.9), 24

 

 0 months

 

39 (11)

 1–12 months

 

104 (29)

 13–36 months

 

91 (26)

 > 36 months

 

119 (34)

Number of days injected POs in the past 30 days

5.0 (16.0), 0

 

 0 days

 

304 (86)

 1–7 days

 

32 (9)

 8–15 days

 

14 (4)

 > 15 days

 

3 (1)

Number of days injected heroin in the past 30 days

18.6 (11.6), 20

 

 0 days

 

56 (16)

 1–7 days

 

54 (15)

 8–15 days

 

44 (12)

 > 15 days

 

199 (56)

Type of opioid injected in the past 30 days

  

 Heroin only

 

251 (71)

 POs only

 

3 (1)

 Heroin and POs

 

46 (13)

 Neither heroin nor POs

 

53 (15)

  1. This table is based on the 353 participants who reported ever injecting drugs
  2. 1Participants who did not inject POs/heroin were not included in the means and standard deviations
  3. 2“Regular” injection is defined as injecting 3 or more times per week for at least 1 month