TABLE 1.
Demographic and injection characteristics of the survey population (N = 858), California, 2003–2005
| Characteristic or practice | Sample with no recent abscess (n = 538) |
Sample with recent abscess(es)a (n = 320) |
P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | 0.0004 | ||
| Male | 406 (75.5) | 206 (64.4) | |
| Female | 131 (24.3) | 114 (35.6) | |
| Race | 0.91 | ||
| Black | 195 (36.2) | 116 (37.2) | |
| White | 116 (21.6) | 66 (21.2) | |
| Latino | 192 (35.7) | 110 (35.3) | |
| Other | 28 (5.2) | 20 (6.4) | |
| Age | 0.31 | ||
| <30 years | 27 (5.0) | 15 (4.8) | |
| 30–39 years | 97 (18.0) | 42 (13.3) | |
| 40–49 years | 194 (36.1) | 124 (39.2) | |
| 50+ years | 216 (40.1) | 135 (42.7) | |
| Education | 0.46 | ||
| ≥ High school | 326 (60.6) | 186 (58.5) | |
| < High school | 208 (38.7) | 132 (41.5) | |
| Homeless | 0.64 | ||
| Yes | 285 (53.0) | 175 (55.6) | |
| No | 244 (45.4) | 140 (44.4) | |
| SEP client | 0.90 | ||
| Yes | 367 (68.2) | 220 (68.8) | |
| No | 170 (31.6) | 100 (31.3) | |
| Years of injecting | 0.02 | ||
| <10 years | 90 (16.7) | 36 (11.4) | |
| 10–19 years | 102 (19.0) | 49 (15.5) | |
| 20+ years | 342 (63.6) | 231 (73.1) | |
| Injection frequency | 0.02 | ||
| 1–29 a month | 115 (21.4) | 48 (15.1) | |
| 30–89 a month | 170 (31.6) | 95 (29.8) | |
| 90+ a month | 249 (46.3) | 176 (55.2) | |
| Reused syringe in last 30 days | 0.09 | ||
| Yes | 117 (21.7) | 86 (26.8) | |
| No | 420 (78.1) | 234 (73.1) | |
| Type of drug injected | |||
| Heroin | 495 (92.0) | 312 (97.5) | 0.001 |
| Cocaine (powder) | 68 (12.6) | 40 (12.5) | 0.94 |
| Cocaine (rock) | 33 (6.1) | 20 (6.3) | 0.95 |
| Methamphetamines | 55 (10.2) | 14 (4.4) | 0.002 |
| Speedball (heroin/cocaine) | 123 (22.9) | 88 (27.5) | 0.13 |
a
Those reporting an abscess in the prior 6 months.