Hiv Infection | Study Finds Smoking Crack Cocaine Is A Risk Factor For Hiv Infection
A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that smoking crack cocaine is a risk factor for HIV infection amongst injection drug users.
A previous study conducted in the United States had evaluated inner-city young adults and found that smoking of crack cocaine was associated with HIV infection. Nevertheless, in Canada, knowledge about the impact of crack cocaine use on HIV infection has remained limited. Despite high rates of crack cocaine use (as high as 86 percent in Vancouver), public health programs directed at this group of drug users have remained controversial.
Due to the limited amount of information available on this issue, this study sought to discover whether crack cocaine use was a risk factor for HIV infection amongst Canadians.
The researchers studied 1048 injection drug users, all of whom were participants of the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. Patients were HIV-negative at the time of enrollment, and had admitted to using illicit drugs at least once in the month prior to enrollment. The study was divided into three time periods, allowing researchers to determine whether the risk for HIV infection increased over time.
Of the 1048 participants enrolled in the study, 137 were infected with HIV upon follow up. The average proportion of individuals who reported smoking crack cocaine on a daily basis also increased from 1
