Table 1.
Patient Characteristics at Initial Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Receipt
| Variable | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Injection drug using people living with HIV/AIDS | 1727 |
| Age, y | |
| <30 | 283 (16.4) |
| 30–39 | 666 (38.6) |
| 40–49 | 573 (33.2) |
| 50+ | 205 (11.9) |
| Female gender | 575 (33.3) |
| Aboriginal | 455 (26.3) |
| Health authority of residence | |
| Interior | 109 (6.3) |
| Fraser | 391 (22.6) |
| Vancouver Coastal | 900 (52.1) |
| Vancouver Island | 244 (14.1) |
| Northern | 83 (4.8) |
| On OST | 612 (35.4) |
| CD4, cells/mm3 | |
| <200 | 792 (46) |
| 200–499 | 719 (41.8) |
| ≥500 | 210 (12.2) |
| Prior OST episodes | |
| 0 | 969 (56.1) |
| 1 | 410 (23.7) |
| ≥2 | 348 (20.2) |
| Charlson comorbidity index (>0) | 575 (33.3) |
| AIDS status | 231 (13.4) |
| Calendar year | |
| 1996–1999 | 626 (36.2) |
| 2000–2003 | 378 (21.9) |
| 2004–2010 | 723 (41.9) |
| Possible endpoints: censored | 1234 (71.5) |
| Drug-related death | 92 (5.3) |
| Human immunodeficiency virus–related death | 275 (15.9) |
| Other-related death | 126 (7.3) |
Abbreviations: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; OST, opioid substitution treatment.