Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Oct 1;132(3):541-6. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.03.021. Epub 2013 May 9.
Limited evidence suggests that younger people who inject drugs (PWID) engage in high-risk injecting behaviours. This study aims to better understand the relationships between age and risky injecting behaviours.
Data were taken from 11 years of a repeat cross-sectional study of sentinel samples of regular PWID (The Australian Illicit Drug Reporting System, 2001-2011). Multivariable Poisson regression was used to explore the relationship between age and four outcomes of interest: last drug injection occurred in public, receptive needle sharing (past month), experiencing injecting-related problems (e.g. abscess, dirty hit; past month), and non-fatal heroin overdose (past six months).
Data from 6795 first-time study participants were analysed (median age: 33 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 27-40; median duration of injecting: 13 years [IQR: 7-20]). After adjusting for factors including duration of injecting, each five year increase in age was associated with significant reductions in public injecting (adjusted incidence rate ratio [AIRR]: 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88-0.92), needle sharing (AIRR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.79-0.89) and injecting-related problems (AIRR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.95-0.97). Among those who had injected heroin in the six months preceding interview, each five year increase in age was associated with an average 10% reduction in the risk of heroin overdose (AIRR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96).
Older PWID report significantly lower levels of high-risk injecting practices than younger PWID. Although they make up a small proportion of the current PWID population, younger PWID remain an important group for prevention and harm reduction.
有限的证据表明，年轻的吸毒者（PWID）会从事高风险的注射行为。本研究旨在更好地了解年龄与高风险注射行为之间的关系。
数据来自于一项对常规吸毒者（澳大利亚非法药物报告系统，2001-2011 年）的哨点样本进行的重复横断面研究的 11 年数据。多变量泊松回归用于探索年龄与四个感兴趣结果之间的关系：最后一次药物注射发生在公共场所、接受性针具共享（过去一个月）、经历与注射相关的问题（例如脓肿、脏针；过去一个月）以及非致命性海洛因过量（过去六个月）。
分析了来自 6795 名首次研究参与者的数据（中位数年龄：33 岁，四分位距[IQR]：27-40；中位数注射持续时间：13 年[IQR：7-20]）。在调整了包括注射持续时间在内的各种因素后，年龄每增加五年，与在公共场所注射的显著减少相关（调整后的发病率比[AIRR]：0.90，95%置信区间[CI]：0.88-0.92）、针具共享（AIRR：0.84，95% CI：0.79-0.89）和与注射相关的问题（AIRR：0.96，95% CI：0.95-0.97）。在接受访谈前六个月内注射过海洛因的人群中，年龄每增加五年，海洛因过量的风险平均降低 10%（AIRR：0.90，95% CI：0.85-0.96）。
年长的吸毒者报告的高风险注射行为明显低于年轻的吸毒者。尽管他们在当前吸毒者群体中占很小的比例，但年轻的吸毒者仍然是预防和减少伤害的一个重要群体。
