Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 746 HIV-positive people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada, stratified by being a DPC client
| Characteristic | Total (%) (n = 746) | Being a DPC client | p - value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (%) (n = 161) | No (%) (n = 585) | |||
| Age (med, IQR) | 43.5 (36.9–48.6) | 45.6 (40.4–50.3) | 42.8 (36.2–48.2) | <0.001 |
| Male gender | 500 (67.0) | 134 (83.2) | 366 (62.6) | <0.001 |
| Indigenous ancestry | 302 (40.5) | 54 (33.5) | 248 (42.4) | 0.043 |
| HCV-positive serostatus | 653 (87.5) | 135 (83.9) | 518 (88.5) | 0.098 |
| Homelessness* | 222 (29.8) | 37 (23.0) | 185 (31.6) | 0.038 |
| Diagnosed mental illness | 372 (49.9) | 102 (63.4) | 270 (46.2) | <0.001 |
| ≥ Daily heroin injection* | 109 (14.6) | 8 (5.0) | 101 (17.3) | <0.001 |
| ≥ Daily cocaine injection* | 61 (8.2) | 7 (4.3) | 54 (9.2) | 0.044 |
| ≥ Daily crack non-injection* | 258 (34.6) | 36 (22.4) | 222 (37.9) | <0.001 |
| Enrolment in MMT* | 303 (40.6) | 51 (31.7) | 252 (43.1) | 0.007 |
| ≥95% HAART adherence* | 322 (43.2) | 89 (55.3) | 233 (39.8) | <0.001 |
| CD4 cell count (med, IQR)* | 320 (200–465) | 310 (175–455) | 320 (200–467) | 0.579 |
| Achieved VL suppression* | 289 (38.7) | 83 (51.6) | 206 (35.2) | <0.001 |
DPC: Dr. Peter Centre; IQR: interquartile range; HCV: hepatitis C virus; MMT: methadone maintenance therapy; HAART: highly active antiretroviral therapy; VL: viral load
• Refers to the six-month period prior to the interview