Table 1. Demographic distribution of those with an SSTI of any severity, and those with a severe infection with accompanying Pearson’s chi-square tests of independence.
| Variable | Level | Total | Any SSTI | Χ2 | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (N = 455) | (64%, n = 291) | ||||
| Sex | Male | 341 (75.0%) | 216 (63.3%) | 0.22 | 0.64 |
| Female | 114 (25.0%) | 75 (65.8%) | |||
| Age | <35 years old | 58 (12.8%) | 28 (48.3%) | 20.04 | <0.001 |
| 35–44 years old | 155 (34.1%) | 77 (49.7%) | |||
| 45+ years old | 242 (53.2%) | 186 (76.9%) | |||
| Ever homeless | Yes | 355 (78.0%) | 231 (65.1%) | 0.87 | 0.35 |
| No | 100 (22.0%) | 60 (60.0%) | |||
| Attempts (skin punctures) before achieving injection | Once | 202 (44.4%) | 99 (49.0%) | 41.26 | <0.001 |
| Twice | 82 (18.0%) | 56 (68.3%) | |||
| Three times | 58 (12.8%) | 41 (70.7%) | |||
| Four or more times | 108 (23.7%) | 91 (84.3%) | |||
| Does not inject in vein | 5 (1.1%) | 4 (80.0%) | |||
| Injecting frequency | Weekly (once to six times per week) | 138 (30.3%) | 31 (22.5%) | 19.9 | <0.001 |
| Daily or more | 317 (69.7%) | 260 (82.0%) | |||
| Injected in past 12 months | Yes | 284 (62.4%) | 191 (67.3%) | 3.56 | 0.06 |
| No | 171 (37.6%) | 100 (58.5%) | |||
| Main drug injected | Heroin | 199 (43.7%) | 126 (63.3%) | 18.60 | 0.10 |
| Crack | 7 (1.5%) | 1 (14.3%) | |||
| Heroin and crack combined | 225 (49.5%) | 155 (68.9%) | |||
| Methadone | 5 (1.1%) | 2 (40.0%) | |||
| Stimulants (Meth/amphetamines) | 15 (3.3%) | 6 (33.3%) | |||
| Cocaine | 2 (0.4%) | 1 (50.0%) | |||
| Methadrone | 1 (0.2%) | - | |||
| Steroids | 1 (0.2%) | - | |||
| Wash hands prior to injecting | Always | 134 (29.4%) | 81 (60.4%) | 1.01 | 0.60 |
| Sometimes | 165 (36.3%) | 108 (65.5%) | |||
| Never | 156 (34.3%) | 102 (65.4%) | |||
| Wipe injection site prior to injecting | Always | 207 (45.5%) | 126 (60.9%) | 1.59 | 0.45 |
| Sometimes | 145 (31.9%) | 96 (66.2%) | |||
| Never | 103 (22.6%) | 69 (67.0%) | |||
| Reuse needles or syringes | Yes | 306 (67.3%) | 224 (73.2%) | 34.66 | <0.001 |
| No | 149 (32.7%) | 67 (45.0%) | |||
| Reuse filters | Yes | 190 (43.7%) | 177 (93.2%) | 10.52 | 0.001 |
| No | 245 (56.3%) | 109 (44.5%) | |||
| Comorbidity (diagnosed) | No conditions | 92 (20.2%) | 34 (37.0%) | 59.64 | <0.001 |
| One condition | 143 (31.4%) | 81 (56.6%) | |||
| Two conditions | 94 (20.7%) | 71 (75.5%) | |||
| Three conditions | 66 (14.5%) | 52 (78.8%) | |||
| Four conditions | 34 (7.5%) | 30 (88.2%) | |||
| Five conditions or more | 26 (5.7%) | 23 (88.5%) |
Χ2 –Pearson’s chi-square test of independence.
p-value–significance at the 0.05 level or less.