Table 1.
Participants characteristics by xylazine awareness among people who use drugs — Ohio, 2023–2024
| Characteristic | Overall | Xylazine awareness a | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | P-valueb | PR c (95% CI) | ||
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |||
| Total | 630 (100.0) | 293 (46.5) | 337 (53.5) | — | — |
| Age, yrs | |||||
| Mean (std dev) | 43.0 (11.2) | 40.7 (10.1) | 45.0 (11.7) | < 0.0001 | 0.99 (0.98–0.99) |
| Median (range) | 42 (19–77) | 40 (19–74) | 45 (19–77) | — | |
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 249 (39.6) | 122 (41.8) | 127 (37.7) | 0.3247 | Ref |
| Male | 372 (59.1) | 168 (57.5) | 204 (60.5) | 0.98 (0.83–1.16) | |
| Other d | 8 (1.3) | 2 (0.7) | 6 (1.8) | 0.62 (0.20–1.98) | |
| Missing e | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Race | |||||
| Black or African American | 152 (24.5) | 46 (15.9) | 106 (31.9) | < 0.0001 | 0.70 (0.54–0.91) |
| White, European American, or Middle Eastern | 404 (65.1) | 213 (73.7) | 191 (57.5) | Ref | |
| Other f | 65 (10.5) | 30 (10.4) | 35 (10.5) | 0.89 (0.67–1.16) | |
| Missing e | 9 | 4 | 5 | — | — |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| Hispanic or Latino | 28 (4.5) | 14 (4.8) | 14 (4.2) | 0.7167 | — |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 600 (95.5) | 279 (95.2) | 321 (95.8) | ||
| Missing e | 2 | 0 | 2 | — | |
| Education | |||||
| Did not finish high school | 195 (31.0) | 89 (30.4) | 106 (31.5) | 0.6612 | — |
| Finished high school | 255 (40.5) | 124 (42.3) | 131 (38.9) | ||
| Additional schooling beyond high school | 180 (28.6) | 80 (27.3) | 100 (29.7) | ||
| Currently employed | |||||
| Yes | 105 (16.7) | 52 (17.8) | 53 (15.7) | 0.4973 | — |
| No | 525 (83.3) | 241 (82.3) | 284 (84.3) | ||
| Currently experiencing homelessness | |||||
| Yes | 251 (39.8) | 123 (42.0) | 128 (38.0) | 0.3067 | — |
| No | 379 (60.2) | 170 (58.0) | 209 (62.0) | ||
| Recruitment county | |||||
| Rural g | 135 (21.4) | 58 (19.8) | 77 (22.9) | 0.3515 | — |
| Urban h | 495 (78.6) | 235 (80.2) | 260 (77.2) | ||
| Lifetime history of overdose | |||||
| Yes | 343 (54.5) | 191 (65.4) | 152 (45.1) | < 0.0001 | 1.44 (1.20–1.74) |
| No | 286 (45.5) | 101 (34.6) | 185 (54.9) | Ref | |
| Missing e | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Overdose in the past six months (if lifetime = Yes) | |||||
| Yes | 113 (32.9) | 56 (29.3) | 57 (37.5) | 0.1093 | — |
| No | 230 (67.1) | 135 (70.7) | 95 (62.5) | ||
| Worried about overdosing in future | |||||
| Yes | 306 (48.8) | 152 (52.2) | 154 (45.8) | 0.1098 | — |
| No | 321 (51.2) | 139 (47.8) | 182 (54.2) | ||
| Missing e | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | |
Abbreviations: PR = Prevalence ratio; CI = Confidence interval; Ref = Reference
Bold indicates statistical significance
aRespondents were asked, “Before today, had you ever heard of xylazine being present in street drugs? (Xylazine is also known as tranq, tranq dope, Philly dope, sleep cut, or zombie drug.)” Missing responses were excluded from analyses
bP-values calculated from Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, or Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests
cSignificant result from Chi-square test for drug overdose by xylazine awareness was examined further using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) estimation method for modified Poisson regression, controlling for age, sex, and race
dIncludes intersex, transgender female, & transgender male
eMissing values were omitted from the denominator when calculating percentages
fIncludes Asian, Native American, Indigenous, or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Two or more races, and Other
gIncludes Guernsey, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Ross, and Washington counties
hIncludes Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning, Miami, Montgomery, Portage, and Union counties