Table 2.
Participants drug profile 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) | — | — |
| Drug(s) regularly used (not mutually exclusive) | |||||
| Marijuana | 304 (48.3) | 120 (39.5) | 184 (60.5) | 0.0006 | 0.77 (0.64–0.91) |
| Cocaine | 270 (42.9) | 117 (43.3) | 153 (56.7) | 0.1665 | — |
| Fentanyl | 256 (40.6) | 165 (64.5) | 91 (35.6) | < 0.0001 | 1.67 (1.40–1.98) |
| Meth/Methamphetamine/Amphetamine | 240 (38.1) | 134 (55.8) | 106 (44.2) | 0.0002 | 1.17 (0.99–1.39) |
| Heroin | 170 (27.0) | 101 (59.4) | 69 (40.6) | < 0.0001 | 1.34 (1.14–1.58) |
| Alcohol | 160 (25.4) | 51 (31.9) | 109 (68.1) | < 0.0001 | 0.67 (0.52–0.85) |
| Prescription pills that are not from a doctor or pharmacy | 84 (13.3) | 38 (45.2) | 46 (54.8) | 0.8021 | — |
| MDMA/Ecstasy/GHB | 26 (4.1) | 13 (50.0) | 13 (50.0) | 0.7154 | — |
| K2/SPICE | 16 (2.5) | 9 (56.3) | 7 (43.8) | 0.4287 | — |
| Ketamine/PCP/DXM | 10 (1.6) | 8 (80.0) | 2 (20.0) | 0.0509 | — |
| Other e | 27 (4.3) | 14 (51.9) | 13 (48.2) | 0.5693 | — |
| Unknown | 8 (1.3) | 4 (50.0) | 4 (50.0) | 1.0000 | — |
| Prefer not to answer | 29 (4.6) | 12 (41.4) | 17 (58.6) | 0.5708 | — |
| Polydrug use f | |||||
| Yes | 453 (75.0) | 219 (48.3) | 234 (51.7) | 0.2586 | — |
| No | 151 (25.0) | 65 (43.1) | 86 (57) | ||
| Missing d | 26 | 9 | 17 | — | |
| Number of drugs indicated g | |||||
| Mean (std dev) | 2.5 (1.5) | 2.6 (1.6) | 2.4 (1.4) | 0.0348 | — |
| Median (min-max) | 2 (0–10) | 2 (0–10) | 2 (0–9) | — | |
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 results from Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests for drug(s) of regular use characteristics by xylazine awareness were examined further using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) estimation method for modified Poisson regression separately, controlling for age, sex, and race
dMissing values were omitted from the denominator when calculating percentages
eIncludes hash, suboxone, tobacco products, methadone, etc
fTwo or more drugs selected (Heroin, Fentanyl, Marijuana, Meth/Methamphetamine/Amphetamine, Cocaine, Prescription pills that are not from a doctor or pharmacy, MDMA/Ecstasy/GHB, Ketamine/PCP/DXM, K2/SPICE, Alcohol, or Other)
gNumber of drug selected (Heroin, Fentanyl, Marijuana, Meth/Methamphetamine/Amphetamine, Cocaine, Prescription pills that are not from a doctor or pharmacy, MDMA/Ecstasy/GHB, Ketamine/PCP/DXM, K2/SPICE, Alcohol, or Other)