Table 2.
Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for factors associated with cessation of injection drug use among street youth who inject drugs: At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), Vancouver, British Columbia, 2005–2015 (n = 383)
| Unadjusted HR (95% CI) | Adjusted HR (95% CI)a | p Valuee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age (per year older) | 1.00 (0.99–1.01) | ||
| Female Gender | 1.01 (0.73–1.40) | ||
| Caucasian Ethnicity | 1.09 (0.75–1.60) | ||
| High school educationb | 1.10 (0.79–1.54) | ||
| Drug use related factors | |||
| Any heroin usec | 0.58 (0.42–0.81) | 0.55 (0.34–0.87) | 0.010 |
| Any prescription opioid usec | 0.75 (0.56–1.02) | ||
| Any crystal meth usec | 0.64 (0.47–0.88) | 0.65 (0.42–1.01) | 0.054 |
| Any cocaine usec | 1.16 (0.86–1.56) | ||
| Any crack usec | 1.08 (0.79–1.47) | ||
| Mental health related factors | |||
| Mental illness history | 1.07 (0.76–1.54) | ||
| Childhood physical or sexual abused | 0.82 (0.56–1.18) | ||
| Depressiond | 0.64 (0.43–0.93) | 0.64 (0.41–1.01) | 0.053 |
| Socioeconomic factors | |||
| Homelessd | 0.68 (0.51–0.90) | 1.25 (0.86–1.83) | 0.246 |
| Living with familyd | 1.76 (1.22–2.55) | 1.21 (0.73–2.02) | 0.459 |
| Evictedd | 0.44 (0.22–0.89) | 0.59 (0.29–1.21) | 0.152 |
| Living in the Downtown Eastsided | 0.58 (0.42–0.82) | 0.67 (0.42–1.06) | 0.085 |
| Employedd | 1.49 (1.11–2.01) | ||
| Loss of income assistanced | 0.54 (0.25–1.16) | ||
| Accessed health cared | 1.11 (0.81–1.54) | ||
| Incarceratedd | 0.57 (0.37–0.88) | 0.83 (0.46–1.51) | 0.546 |
| Sex workd | 0.40 (0.23–0.72) | 0.62 (0.29–1.33) | 0.221 |
| Dealt drugsd | 0.37 (0.25–0.56) | 0.50 (0.29–0.87) | 0.015 |
| Prohibited street-based income generating activitiesd,f | 0.50 (0.34–0.72) | 0.41 (0.24–0.69) | 0.001 |
| Illegal income generating activitiesd,g |
0.25 (0.13–0.50) | 0.19 (0.06–0.61) | 0.005 |
aVariables significant at p < 0.10 in bivariate models were eligible for possible inclusion in the multivariate model (extended Cox proportional hazards regression model); variables included in the final multivariate model were identified using a backward selection approach to minimize the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC)
bDenotes completion of or current enrollment in high school
cIncludes both non-injection and injection use; drug use behaviors were lagged by one visit in order to assess behaviors during the 6 months when participants who ceased were still injecting
dReported for the 6 months prior to the last follow-up visit at which a participant was still injecting
e P-values refer to adjusted HR
fProhibited street-based income generating activities included panhandling, recycling, and squeegeeing
gIllegal income generating activities included theft, robbing, fraud, and other illegal actives excluding sex work and drug dealing