Table 2.
Bivariate Associations of Drug Use Class and Sociodemographic Characteristics, Overdose, and HIV Risk Behaviors 671 Current and Former People who Inject Drugs in Baltimore, MD, 2017
| Characteristic | Latent Drug Use Class | Chi-Squared p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrequent Drug Use N (%) | Heroin and/or Cocaine Injection N (%) | Prescription Drug Use N (%) | ||
| Total | 512 (76.3) | 79 (11.8) | 80 (11.9) | -- |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Female | 170 (33.2) | 14 (17.7) | 31 (38.8) | 0.009 |
| Race | ||||
| African American | 403 (78.7) | 41 (51.9) | 49 (61.3) | <0.0001a |
| White | 95 (18.6) | 35 (44.3) | 29 (36.3) | |
| Other | 14 (2.7) | 3 (3.8) | 2 (2.5) | |
| Homeless | 83 (16.2) | 36 (45.6) | 19 (23.8) | <0.0001 |
| Incarcerated ≥7 days in past 6 months | 20 (3.9) | 2 (2.5) | 7 (8.8) | 0.14a |
| Legal income <$5000 in the past 6 monthsb | 389 (76.7) | 64 (81.0) | 62 (77.5) | 0.70 |
| Depression (CES-D Score ≥23) in the past 6 months | 197 (38.5) | 37 (46.8) | 51 (63.8) | <0.0001 |
| Residence in the past 6 monthsc | ||||
| Baltimore city | 439 (86.9) | 59 (83.1) | 68 (87.2) | 0.67 |
| Outside Baltimore city | 66 (13.1) | 12 (16.9) | 10 (12.8) | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 53.6 (47.0–58.5) | 47.4 (39.3–56.6) | 49.4 (41.3–55.1) | <0.0001d |
| Year recruited into ALIVE study | ||||
| 1988–1989 | 67 (13.1) | 12 (15.2) | 4 (5.0) | <0.0001 |
| 1994–1995 | 39 (7.6) | 1 (1.3) | 2 (2.5) | |
| 1998 | 26 (5.1) | 1 (1.3) | 0 (0) | |
| 2005–2008 | 157 (30.7) | 16 (20.3) | 13 (16.3) | |
| 2015–2018 | 223 (43.6) | 49 (62.0) | 61 (76.3) | |
| Drug use in past 6 months | ||||
| Used prescription opioids to get highe | 13 (30.2) | 5 (45.5) | 66 (84.6) | <0.0001a |
| Used prescription opioids to treat withdrawal symptomse | 18 (41.9) | 4 (36.4) | 55 (70.5) | 0.0031a |
| Used prescription sedatives to get highf | 28 (49.1) | 8 (80.0) | 45 (72.6) | 0.017a |
| Used prescription sedatives to treat withdrawal symptomsf | 26 (45.6) | 8 (80.0) | 40 (63.5) | 0.046a |
| Used prescription tranquilizers to get highg | 30 (53.6) | 11 (64.7) | 47 (73.4) | 0.077 |
| Used prescription tranquilizers to treat withdrawal symptomsg | 26 (46.4) | 10 (58.8) | 39 (60.9) | 0.26 |
| Alcohol use frequency | ||||
| Did not drink | 203 (39.7) | 31 (39.2) | 17 (21.3) | 0.0016 |
| Drank >1 day per week | 276 (53.9) | 46 (58.2) | 51 (63.8) | |
| Drank 7 days per week | 33 (6.5) | 2 (2.5) | 12 (15.0) | |
| Used marijuana | 110 (21.5) | 28 (35.4) | 45 (56.3) | <0.0001 |
| Years since initiating injection drug use, median (IQR)h | 29.5 (20.9–37.0) | 23.2 (15.6–34.6) | 23.5 (15.4–32.4) | 0.0009d |
| Frequency of injecting drugs | ||||
| No injection drug use | 230 (44.9) | 0 (0) | 10 (12.5) | <0.0001 |
| Injected <once per day | 154 (30.1) | 24 (30.4) | 37 (46.3) | |
| Injected ≥once per day | 128 (25.0) | 55 (69.6) | 33 (41.3) | |
| Frequency of using non-injection drugs | ||||
| No non-injection drugs used | 72 (14.1) | 8 (10.1) | 0 (0) | 0.0002 |
| Used <once per day | 244 (47.7) | 27 (34.2) | 38 (47.5) | |
| Used ≥once per day | 196 (38.3) | 44 (55.7) | 42 (52.5) | |
| No. drugs used | ||||
| 1 | 190 (37.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
| 2 | 166 (32.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| 3–4 | 146 (28.5) | 29 (36.7) | 17 (21.3) | |
| 5–6 | 10 (2.0) | 44 (55.7) | 38 (47.5) | |
| ≥7 | 0 (0) | 6 (7.6) | 25 (31.3) | |
| Median (IQR) no. drugs used | 2 (1–3) | 5 (4–6) | 6 (5–7) | <0.0001d |
| Drug use route | ||||
| Injection drug use only | 72 (14.1) | 8 (10.1) | 0 (0) | <0.0001a |
| Non-injection drug use only | 230 (44.9) | 0 (0) | 10 (12.5) | |
| Polyroute (injection and non-injection) | 210 (41.0) | 71 (89.9) | 70 (87.5) | |
| Lifetime use of fentanyl from the streeti | ||||
| Yes | 104 (36.9) | 17 (58.6) | 13 (46.4) | 0.080a |
| No | 163 (57.8) | 11 (37.9) | 12 (42.9) | |
| Refused to answer | 15 (5.3) | 1 (3.5) | 3 (10.7) | |
| Prescribed opioid agonist therapy in past 6 months | ||||
| Prescribed buprenorphine | 88 (17.2) | 11 (13.9) | 18 (22.5) | 0.35 |
| Prescribed methadone | 266 (52.0) | 41 (51.9) | 39 (48.8) | 0.87 |
| HIV | ||||
| HIV-positive | 148 (28.9) | 19 (24.1) | 14 (17.5) | 0.084 |
| Detectable HIV viral loadj | 97 (65.5) | 17 (89.5) | 10 (71.4) | 0.10 |
| Hepatitis C Virus seropositivek | 376 (73.9) | 63 (82.9) | 49 (62.0) | 0.012 |
| Shared syringesl | 69 (24.5) | 39 (49.4) | 27 (38.6) | <0.0001 |
| Obtained syringes (from BCNEP or pharmacy)l | 128 (45.4) | 56 (70.9) | 36 (51.4) | 0.0003 |
| Overdosed in past 6 months | 41 (8.0) | 20 (25.3) | 25 (31.3) | <0.0001 |
Fisher exact test p-value.
5 participants missing income information excluded from percentage calculation.
17 participants missing residence information excluded from percentage calculation.
Kruskal-Wallis test p-value.
Among 132 participants who used prescription opioids nonmedically.
131 participants used prescription sedatives nonmedically. Percentages are calculated among 130 who answered questions about sedative use to treat withdrawal and 129 who answered questions about sedative use to get high.
Among 137 participants who used prescription tranquilizers nonmedically.
Among 659 participants who reported age at first drug injection.
332 participants were not asked questions about fentanyl use.
Among 181 participants with HIV infection.
Among 664 participants with a completed hepatitis C antibody test.
Among 429 participants who injected drugs in the past 6 months.
Abbreviations: BCNEP: Baltimore City Needle Exchange Program; IQR: Interquartile range; No.: Number.