Table 1.
The table presents baseline characteristics of the cohort (N = 666).
| Characteristic | n/N (%) |
|---|---|
| Gender | |
| Male | 465/666 (70) |
| Female | 201/666 (30) |
| Age group | |
| < 30 years | 79/666 (11) |
| 30–39 years | 188/666 (28) |
| 40–49 years | 205/666 (31) |
| 50–59 years | 155/666 (23) |
| ≥ 60 years | 39/666 (6) |
| Education level | |
| Not completed primary school | 36/666 (5) |
| Primary school (9 years) | 300/666 (45) |
| High school (12 years) | 267/666 (40) |
| ≤ 3 years higher education | 52/666 (8) |
| > 3 years higher education | 11/666 (2) |
| Source of income | |
| Paid labor | 50/666 (8) |
| Social benefits1 | 616/666 (92) |
| Housing condition2 | |
| Unstable | 79/666 (12) |
| Stable | 587/666 (88) |
| HCV infection3 | 310/595 (52) |
| Injecting substances4 | 321/609 (53) |
| Opioid agonist therapy | 594/666 (89) |
| Buprenorphine | 356/594 (60) |
| Methadone | 229/594 (39) |
| Other opioids | 9/594 (2) |
| Weekly substance use5 | |
| Alcohol | 151/607 (25) |
| Cannabis | 304/607 (50) |
| Stimulants6 | 159/607 (26) |
| Benzodiazepines | 230/607 (38) |
| Non-OAT opioids | 83/607 (14) |
| No weekly substance use | 142/607 (23) |
| Weekly tobacco use7 | 564/607 (85) |
1Social benefits include disability, disease and unemployment benefits and work assessment allowance.
2Stable housing included living in owned or rented housing or at an institution, unstable housing included homelessness, living at temporary camping sites or with friends or family.
3Hepatitis C virus infection, defined as non-zero values on a quantitative HCV-RNA assay at baseline.
4Self-reported injection of any substance during the 6 months prior to the first health assessment.
5Self-reported substance use on a minimum weekly basis during the 12 months prior to the first health assessment.
6Amphetamine, methamphetamine or cocaine, 7Self-reported tobacco use (smoking or snuff) on a minimum weekly basis during the 12 months prior to the first health assessment.