Table 1.
Baseline sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with substance use category among HIV-infected male VACS participants (n= 3,099).a,b
| Substance-use category at baseline | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||
| Total population (n=3,099, 100.0%) | No substance use (n=558, 18.0%) | Alcohol only, AUDIT-C <4 (n=754, 24.3%) | Alcohol only, AUDIT-C ≥4 (n=561, 18.1%) | Cannabis +/− alcohol(n=478, 15.4%) | Stimulants +/− cannabis or alcohol(n=748, 24.1%) | p- valuec | |
| VACS Index Score, median (IQR) | 28 (17, 45) | 28 (17, 46) | 27 (15, 41) | 30 (17, 46) | 27 (13, 39) | 32 (19, 47) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| Age, median (IQR) | 49 (44, 55) | 50 (45, 56) | 50 (43, 56) | 50 (44, 55) | 48 (42, 53) | 48 (44, 53) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| Smoking status, n (%) | |||||||
| Current smoker | 1,658 (53.5) | 220 (39.4) | 295 (39.1) | 292 (52.1) | 257 (53.8) | 594 (79.4) | <0.0001 |
| Former smoker | 731 (23.6) | 158 (28.3) | 204 (27.1) | 181 (32.3) | 117 (24.5) | 71 (9.5) | |
| Never smoker | 710 (22.9) | 180 (32.3) | 255 (33.8) | 88 (15.7) | 104 (21.8) | 83 (11.1) | |
|
| |||||||
| Any illicit opioid use in past year, n (%)d | 309 (10.0) | 23 (4.1) | 27 (3.6) | 24 (4.3) | 40 (8.4) | 195 (26.1) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| IDU ever, n (%) | 1,050 (33.9) | 203 (36.4) | 137 (18.2) | 202 (36.0) | 133 (27.8) | 375 (50.1) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| Unhealthy alcohol use AUDIT-C ≥4, n (%) | 1,091 (35.2) | n/a | 0 (0.0) | 561 (100.0) | 164 (34.5) | 366 (49.1) | n/a |
|
| |||||||
| MSM statuse | |||||||
| Current MSM | 988 (31.9) | 107 (19.2) | 268 (35.5) | 138 (24.6) | 225 (47.1) | 251 (33.6) | <0.0001 |
| Heterosexual | 1,166 (37.6) | 230 (41.2) | 227 (30.1) | 234 (41.7) | 139 (29.1) | 336 (44.9) | |
| Not sexually active | 944 (30.5) | 221 (39.6) | 259 (34.4) | 189 (33.7) | 114 (23.9) | 161 (21.5) | |
|
| |||||||
| Non-white race/ethnicity, n (%) | 2,467 (79.6) | 464 (83.2) | 558 (74.0) | 448 (79.9) | 338 (70.7) | 659 (88.1) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| High school education/less than high school, n (%) | 1,233 (39.8) | 234 (41.9) | 240 (31.8) | 250 (44.6) | 160 (33.5) | 349 (46.7) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| Marital status, n (%) | |||||||
| Married/living with partner | 720 (23.3) | 145 (26.0) | 191 (25.3) | 131 (23.4) | 135 (28.2) | 118 (15.8) | |
| Divorced, separate, or widowed | 1,257 (40.6) | 235 (42.1) | 286 (37.9) | 226 (40.3) | 154 (32.2) | 356 (47.6) | <0.0001 |
| Never married | 1,122 (36.2) | 178 (31.9) | 277 (36.7) | 204 (36.4) | 189 (39.5) | 274 (36.6) | |
|
| |||||||
| Unemployed/retired/other at baseline, n (%) | 2,074 (66.9) | 364 (65.2) | 443 (58.8) | 370 (66.0) | 310 (64.9) | 587 (78.5) | <0.0001 |
|
| |||||||
| Annual income at baseline, n (%) | |||||||
| <$6000 | 615 (19.9) | 95 (17.0) | 98 (13.0) | 114 (20.3) | 75 (15.7) | 233 (31.2) | <0.0001 |
| $6000–$11,999 | 955 (30.8) | 174 (31.2) | 185 (24.5) | 170 (30.3) | 148 (31.0) | 278 (37.2) | |
| $12,000–24,999 | 756 (24.4) | 141 (25.3) | 203 (26.9) | 147 (26.2) | 128 (26.8) | 137 (18.2) | |
| ≥$25,000 | 773 (24.9) | 148 (26.5) | 268 (35.5) | 130 (23.2) | 127 (26.6) | 100 (13.4) | |
Abbreviations: VACS= Veterans Aging Cohort Study; MSM=men who have sex with men; IQR= interquartile range; IDU=intravenous drug use; AUDIT= Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption questionnaire
Use or experiences in the past-year, reported at baseline.
Percentages calculated excluding missing responses.
Pearson χ2 and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests compared variables by substance-use category at baseline.
In response to the following question: “How often in the past year you used each drug - Opioids (heroin, morphine, codeine, opium)”
Respondents were categorized at baseline as current MSM (at least one male sexual partner in the past twelve months), heterosexual (only female sexual partners in past twelve months) or not sexually active (no sexual partners in past twelve months).