Table 1.
Sample characteristics stratified by exposure to fentanyl among 590 PWID in Vancouver, Canada, 2016–2017
| Characteristic | Exposure to fentanyl | P-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, 590 (100%) | Suspected/known, 143 (24.2%) | Unknown, 153 (25.9%) | No exposure, 294 (49.8%) | ||
| Age (median, Q1–Q3) | 45.7 (34.6–53.7) | 38.6 (30.9–49.2) | 43.3 (34.7–50.6) | 49.3 (38.9–55.4) | <0.001* |
| Female | 225 (38%) | 60 (42%) | 65 (42%) | 100 (34%) | 0.129 |
| White | 323 (55%) | 82 (57%) | 85 (56%) | 156 (53%) | 0.682 |
| DTES residenceb | 403 (68%) | 106 (74%) | 112 (73%) | 185 (63%) | 0.020 |
| Homeless | 109 (18%) | 38 (27%) | 29 (19%) | 42 (14%) | 0.008 |
| Incarceration | 40 (7%) | 19 (13%) | 13 (9%) | 8 (3%) | <0.001 |
| Inability to access any community health or social servicesa | 143 (24%) | 44 (31%) | 39 (26%) | 60 (20%) | 0.058 |
| Non-fatal overdosea | 127 (22%) | 46 (32%) | 36 (24%) | 45 (15%) | <0.001 |
| Injecting alonea | 436 (74%) | 126 (88%) | 101 (66%) | 209 (71%) | <0.001 |
| Opioid agonist therapya | 360 (61%) | 99 (69%) | 102 (67%) | 159 (54%) | 0.002 |
| Supervised injection/overdose prevention sites usea | 283 (48%) | 91 (64%) | 85 (56%) | 107 (36%) | <0.001 |
| Currently possessing naloxone | 397 (67%) | 106 (74%) | 117 (77%) | 174 (59%) | <0.001 |
| Self-reported substance use in the past 6 monthsa | |||||
| ≥Daily heroin injectiona,b | 182 (31%) | 100 (70%) | 67 (44%) | 15 (5%) | <0.001 |
| ≥Daily non-medical PO usea | 19 (3%) | 9 (6%) | 2 (1%) | 8 (3%) | 0.050** |
| ≥Daily cocaine injectiona | 33 (6%) | 8 (6%) | 5 (3%) | 20 (7%) | 0.304 |
| ≥Daily crack smokinga | 42 (7%) | 11 (8%) | 13 (9%) | 18 (6.1%) | 0.621 |
| ≥Daily crystal methamphetamine usea | 112 (19%) | 34 (24%) | 29 (19%) | 49 (17%) | 0.206 |
| ≥Daily alcohol usea | 44 (7%) | 5 (4%) | 15 (10%) | 24 (8%) | 0.096 |
| Non-medical use of benzodiazepinea | 36 (6%) | 9 (6%) | 8 (5%) | 19 (7%) | 0.870 |
| Self-reported substance use in the past 3 days | |||||
| Heroin | 285 (48%) | 132 (92%) | 110 (72%) | 43 (15%) | <0.001 |
| Non-medical use of PO | 41 (7%) | 16 (11%) | 7 (5%) | 18 (6%) | 0.060 |
| Cocaine | 88 (15%) | 18 (13%) | 17 (11%) | 53 (18%) | 0.100 |
| Crack cocaine | 108 (18%) | 20 (14%) | 28 (18%) | 60 (20%) | 0.265 |
| Crystal methamphetamine | 229 (39%) | 70 (49%) | 60 (39%) | 99 (34%) | 0.008 |
| Speedball or goofball injection | 74 (13%) | 34 (24%) | 28 (18%) | 12 (4%) | <0.001 |
| Using stimulants but no opioidsb | 162 (27%) | 1 (1%) | 18 (12%) | 143 (49%) | <0.001** |
| Non-medical use of benzodiazepine | 13 (2%) | 4 (3%) | 3 (2%) | 6 (2%) | 0.873** |
| UDS positive for: | |||||
| Morphine | 343 (58%) | 135 (94%) | 131 (86%) | 77 (26%) | <0.001 |
| Methadone metabolite | 318 (54%) | 83 (58%) | 96 (63%) | 139 (47%) | 0.004 |
| Buprenorphine | 34 (6%) | 7 (5%) | 6 (4%) | 21 (7%) | 0.336 |
| Cocaine | 313 (53%) | 73 (51%) | 95 (62%) | 145 (49%) | 0.032 |
| Amphetamine | 299 (51%) | 100 (70%) | 84 (55%) | 115 (39%) | <0.001 |
| Benzodiazepine | 118 (20%) | 42 (29%) | 26 (17%) | 50 (17%) | 0.006 |
| Cohort designation | 0.022 | ||||
| VIDUS | 302 (51%) | 79 (55%) | 76 (50%) | 147 (50%) | |
| ACCESS | 204 (35%) | 35 (25%) | 56 (36%) | 113 (38%) | |
| ARYS | 84 (14%) | 29 (20%) | 21 (14%) | 34 (12%) | |
*
P-value was obtained from the Kruskal–Wallis test.
**
P-value was obtained from the Fisher’s exact test.
a
Stimulants include any of cocaine, crack cocaine or crystal methamphetamine.
b
Behaviours/events in the past 6 months.
ACCESS, AIDS Care Cohort to evaluate Exposure to Survival Services; ARYS, At-Risk Youth Study; DTES, Downtown Eastside; PO, prescription opioid; PWID, people who inject drugs; Q, quartile; UDS, urine drug screen; VIDUS, Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study.