Table 2. Injecting partnership characteristics* and bivariate associations with HCV incidence.
| Characteristic | N | % | HR | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injecting partner age mix | ||||
| All ≥ 30 years | 96 | 21.4 | 1.0 | |
| Mixed over & under 30 years | 151 | 33.7 | 2.9 | 1.7, 5.0 |
| All < 30 years | 201 | 44.9 | 2.5 | 1.5, 4.2 |
| HCV serostatus# of injecting partners | ||||
| All HCV negative | 173 | 38.6 | 1.0 | |
| Mix of HCV negative & unknown | 111 | 24.8 | 2.0 | 1.2, 3.5 |
| Any HCV positive | 164 | 36.6 | 4.1 | 2.4, 6.8 |
| Number of injecting partners | ||||
| 1 | 139 | 32.0 | 1.0 | |
| 2 | 70 | 15.6 | 1.6 | 0.9, 3.0 |
| 3 | 239 | 52.4 | 3.6 | 2.3, 5.6 |
| Number of female injecting partners | ||||
| 0 | 236 | 52.7 | 1.0 | |
| 1 | 162 | 36.2 | 1.3 | 0.9, 1.9 |
| 2+ | 50 | 11.2 | 1.1 | 0.6, 2.0 |
| Number of male injecting partners | ||||
| 0 | 53 | 11.8 | 1.0 | |
| 1 | 174 | 38.8 | 1.7 | 0.8, 3.5 |
| 2+ | 221 | 49.3 | 3.5 | 1.8, 7.1 |
| Number of opposite sex injecting partners | ||||
| 0 | 157 | 350 | 1.0 | |
| 1 | 171 | 38.2 | 1.2 | 0.8, 1.9 |
| 2+ | 120 | 26.8 | 2.0 | 1.3, 3.1 |
| Number of partners who are also sex partners | ||||
| 0 | 282 | 63.0 | 1.0 | |
| 1 | 147 | 32.8 | 1.3 | 0.9, 1.8 |
| 2+ | 19 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.3, 2.1 |
| Number of partners who are 5 years older | ||||
| 0 | 189 | 42.2 | 1.0 | |
| 1 | 170 | 38.0 | 0.7 | 0.5, 1.1 |
| 2+ | 89 | 19.9 | 1.0 | 0.7, 1.6 |
| Any receptive needle sharing (yes) | 94 | 22.1 | 1.4 | 1.0, 2.1 |
| Any shared ancillary equipment (yes) | 297 | 70.4 | 3.4 | 2.1, 5.6 |
*The three injecting partners with whom he/she “had injected with the most in the past month”; measured at censoring visit. Partnership characteristics were obtained from interviews conducted when HCV was first detected (which assessed prior 30 day or 3-month exposures), or among negatives, the last HCV-negative test date).
# Injecting partner serostatus as known/perceived by respondent.