OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HIV infection and risk-taking behavior for infection among intravenous drug users in Madrid, Seville, and Valencia (Spain). To study the main factors associated with such beha...
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HIV infection and risk-taking behavior for infection among intravenous drug users in Madrid, Seville, and Valencia (Spain). To study the main factors associated with such behavior. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Personal interviews were carried out with 821 intravenous drug users recruited in 1994 and 1995 among recent participants in three needle-exchange programs. Subjects were asked about their risk-taking behavior in the 30 days preceding the interview. Bivariate statistical methods and logistical regression techniques were used. RESULTS: In the month before the interview, 13.8% of the subjects in Valencia, 18.1% in Madrid, and 26.9% in Seville used needles that had been used by other people, usually (73-88%) without disinfecting them effectively. Condom use during the reference period was 50% in Seville, 42.5% in Madrid, and 34.2% in Valencia. The prevalence of HIV infection ranged from 30.1% in Seville to 43. 2% in Madrid. Multivariate analysis showed that the factors most closely associated with accepting used needles were: needle sharing (OR = 12.2), residence in Seville (OR = 6.6), and HIV positivity (OR = 4.6). The factors most closely associated with not using condoms systematically were: ignorance of personal HIV serological state (OR = 4.1), needle sharing (OR = 3.7), and HIV negativity (OR = 3.3). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of HIV transmission among intra-venous drug users in Spain is high (infection and risk-taking behavior have a high prevalence), so programs designed to reduce this risk should be increased quickly.
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