Dataset Information

Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: a multistage systematic review.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Sharing of equipment used for injecting drug use (IDU) is a substantial cause of disease burden and a contributor to blood-borne virus transmission. We did a global multistage systematic review to identify the prevalence of IDU among people aged 15-64 years; sociodemographic characteristics of and risk factors for people who inject drugs (PWID); and the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) among PWID. METHODS:Consistent with the GATHER and PRISMA guidelines and without language restrictions, we systematically searched peer-reviewed databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO; articles published since 2008, latest searches in June, 2017), searched the grey literature (websites and databases, searches between April and August, 2016), and disseminated data requests to international experts and agencies (requests sent in October, 2016). We searched for data on IDU prevalence, characteristics of PWID, including gender, age, and sociodemographic and risk characteristics, and the prevalence of HIV, HCV, and HBV among PWID. Eligible data on prevalence of IDU, HIV antibody, HBsAg, and HCV antibody among PWID were selected and, where multiple estimates were available, pooled for each country via random effects meta-analysis. So too were eligible data on percentage of PWID who were female; younger than 25 years; recently homeless; ever arrested; ever incarcerated; who had recently engaged in sex work, sexual risk, or injecting risk; and whose main drugs injected were opioids or stimulants. We generated regional and global estimates in line with previous global reviews. FINDINGS:We reviewed 55 671 papers and reports, and extracted data from 1147 eligible records. Evidence of IDU was recorded in 179 of 206 countries or territories, which cover 99% of the population aged 15-64 years, an increase of 31 countries (mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Islands) since a review in 2008. IDU prevalence estimates were identified in 83 countries. We estimate that there are 15·6 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 10·2-23·7 million) PWID aged 15-64 years globally, with 3·2 million (1·6-5·1 million) women and 12·5 million (7·5-18·4 million) men. Gender composition varied by location: women were estimated to comprise 30·0% (95% UI 28·5-31·5) of PWID in North America and 33·4% (31·0-35·6) in Australasia, compared with 3·1% (2·1-4·1) in south Asia. Globally, we estimate that 17·8% (10·8-24·8) of PWID are living with HIV, 52·3% (42·4-62·1) are HCV-antibody positive, and 9·0% (5·1-13·2) are HBV surface antigen positive; there is substantial geographic variation in these levels. Globally, we estimate 82·9% (76·6-88·9) of PWID mainly inject opioids and 33·0% (24·3-42·0) mainly inject stimulants. We estimate that 27·9% (20·9-36·8) of PWID globally are younger than 25 years, 21·7% (15·8-27·9) had recently (within the past year) experienced homelessness or unstable housing, and 57·9% (50·5-65·2) had a history of incarceration. INTERPRETATION:We identified evidence of IDU in more countries than in 2008, with the new countries largely consisting of low-income and middle-income countries in Africa. Across all countries, a substantial number of PWID are living with HIV and HCV and are exposed to multiple adverse risk environments that increase health harms. FUNDING:Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Open Society Foundation, World Health Organization, the Global Fund, and UNAIDS.

SUBMITTER: Degenhardt L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5683738 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundGlobally, China is the largest country by population and contributes substantially to the burden of people who inject drugs (PWID). The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) among PWID at the national and subnational level in China and examine characteristics of PWID.MethodsWe undertook a systematic review of studies published from 2008 to 2017 on HIV, HCV, and HBV seroprevalence among PWID, and characteristics of PWID in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Meta-analyses were conducted to generate pooled prevalence estimates by province, region, and nationally.ResultsEighty-five papers were included. The pooled HIV, HCV antibody and HBV prevalence among PWID in China was 10.5% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 8.6%-12.5%), 71.6% (65.7%-77.6%) and 19.6% (13.7%-25.5%), respectively. In Mainland China, HIV prevalence was highest in the Southwest (14.4%, 10.5%-18.4%) and lowest in the North (1.3%, 0.4%-3.4%). Xinjiang Province had the highest HIV prevalence (42.6%, 35.5%-49.8%). HCV antibody prevalence was highest in the Southwest (77.7%, 69.9%-85.4%), followed by South (76.2%, 65.9%-86.4%). Sichuan had the highest HCV antibody prevalence (91.7%, 86.6%-95.3%), followed by Guangxi (86.1%, 81.8%-90.4%). HBsAg prevalence among PWID was highest in South (25.3%, 14.6%-36.0%), followed by Central (20.8%, 17.4%-24.1%). HBsAg prevalence ranged from 2.4% (0.6-5.9%) in Guizhou to 40.0% (33.7%-46.6%) in Shannxi Province. In China, women and young people accounted for 21.3% and 23.1% of PWID, respectively. It was estimated that 96.1% of PWID injected opioids mainly, and recent injecting risk and sexual risk was reported by 28.5% and 36.7%.ConclusionThere is a large burden of HIV, HCV and HBV prevalence among PWID in China, with considerable geographic variation. The disease burden of viral hepatitis is particularly high, implying that effective management should be integrated into harm reduction interventions among PWID in China.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among people who inject drugs (PWID) is a costly investment, so strategies should not only focus on eliminating the disease, but also on preventing disease resurgence. The aims of this study are to compute the minimum necessary antiviral therapies to achieve elimination with and without the additional expansion of harm reduction (HR) programs and to examine the sustainability of HCV elimination after 2030 if treatment is discontinued. METHOD:We considered two types of epidemic (with low (30%) and high (50%) proportion of PWID who engage in sharing equipment (sharers)) within three baseline chronic HCV (CHC) prevalence settings (30%, 45% and 60%), assuming a baseline HR coverage of 40%. We define sustainable elimination strategies, those that could maintain eliminations results for a decade (2031-2040), in the absence of additional treatment. RESULTS:The model shows that the optimum elimination strategy is dependent on risk sharing behavior of the examined population. The necessary annual treatment coverage to achieve HCV elimination under 45% baseline CHC prevalence, without the simultaneous expansion of HR programs, ranges between 4.7-5.1%. Similarly, under 60% baseline CHC prevalence the needed treatment coverage varies from 9.0-10.5%. Increasing HR coverage from 40% to 75%, reduces the required treatment coverage by 6.5-9.8% and 11.0-15.0% under 45% or 60% CHC prevalence, respectively. In settings with ?45% baseline CHC prevalence, expanding HR to 75% could prevent the disease from rebounding after elimination, irrespective of the type of the epidemic. In high chronic HCV prevalence, counseling interventions to reduce sharing are also needed to maintain the HCV incident cases in low levels. CONCLUSIONS:Harm reduction strategies have a vital role in HCV elimination strategy, as they reduce the required number of treatments to eliminate HCV and they provide sustainability after the elimination. The above underlines that HCV elimination strategies should be built upon the existing HR services, and argue for HR expansion in countries without services.

Project description:BackgroundHepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment uptake among people who inject drugs (PWID), a population with disproportionately high rates of HCV, remains low. Peers have been shown to positively impact a broad range of health outcomes for PWID. There is, however, limited data on the impact of PWID social network members on HCV treatment.MethodsHCV-infected PWID enrolled in an ongoing community-based cohort were recruited as "indexes" to complete an egocentric social network survey. The survey elicited from the index PWID a list of their network members and the index's perception of network member characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare individual and network factors associated with HCV treatment in the index PWID.ResultsAmong 540 HCV-infected PWID, the mean age was 55.7 years and the majority were black (87.2%) and male (69.8%). PWID reported a mean of 4.4 (standard deviation [SD] 3.2) network members, most of whom were relatives (mean 2.2 [SD 1.5]). In multivariable analysis, increasing index age and HIV infection were positively associated with HCV treatment, while drug use and homelessness in the preceding 6 months were negatively associated with HCV treatment. From a network perspective, having at least one network member who regularly talked with the index about seeing their doctor for HIV care was associated with HCV treatment (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 2.7; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [1.3, 5.6]). Conversely, PWID who had at least one network member who helped them understand their HCV care were less likely to have been HCV treated (AOR 0.2; CI [0.1, 0.6).ConclusionHCV treatment uptake in this group of PWID appeared to be positively influenced by discussions with network members living with HIV who were in care and negatively influenced by HCV information sharing within PWID networks. These findings underscore the influence of peers on health seeking behaviors of their network members and emphasizes the importance of well-informed peers.

Dataset Information

Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: a multistage systematic review.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets