Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Front Public Health. 2022 Aug 23;10:952909. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.952909. eCollection 2022.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important public health problem, affecting millions of people worldwide. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk of HCV infection due to, among other factors, widespread unsafe injecting practices, such as sharing of infected equipment or unprotected sexual practices. In Portugal, there is a lack of data regarding the proportion of infected persons through injecting drug use. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-HCV prevalence and behavioral correlates of infection in PWID attending harm reduction services in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Portugal. A cross-sectional study with a purposive sample of PWID was undertaken between March 2018 and March 2020. Participants were recruited through the harm-reduction services of a nongovernmental organization. A rapid diagnostic test for anti-HCV screening was performed. Data on drug consumption history and current practices, past HCV testing, care and treatment history, and knowledge regarding hepatitis C were also collected through a questionnaire applied by trained inquirers. A total of 176 PWID participated in this study. An overall prevalence of 70.5% of anti-HCV positive in this population was found. Those with an anti-HCV positive testing result tended to start consuming at a younger age and have a higher consumption of benzodiazepines in the last 30 days. Sharing needles and other injecting material is a frequent risk behavior among this group. Also, they are more likely to have attended an opioid agonist treatment and to have undertaken previous hepatitis C and HIV tests in the past. This study represents an important effort to better understand the HCV prevalence and behavioral correlates of infection among PWID in Portugal, as well as to better estimate those in need of HCV treatment.
丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 感染是一个重要的公共卫生问题，影响着全球数百万人。由于广泛存在不安全的注射行为等因素，注射毒品者 (PWID) 感染 HCV 的风险增加，例如共用受感染的设备或无保护的性行为。在葡萄牙，关于通过注射吸毒感染 HCV 的人数比例缺乏数据。本研究旨在评估葡萄牙里斯本大都市区接受减少伤害服务的 PWID 中的 HCV 感染的抗 HCV 流行率和行为相关性。这是一项在 2018 年 3 月至 2020 年 3 月之间进行的横断面研究，采用有针对性的 PWID 样本。参与者通过非政府组织的减少伤害服务招募。对参与者进行了 HCV 抗体快速诊断检测。还通过受过培训的调查员应用问卷收集了关于药物使用史和当前实践、过去 HCV 检测、护理和治疗史以及对丙型肝炎认知的数据。共有 176 名 PWID 参加了这项研究。该人群的抗 HCV 阳性总体流行率为 70.5%。那些抗 HCV 检测结果呈阳性的人往往在更年轻的时候开始吸毒，并且在过去 30 天内有更高的苯二氮䓬类药物的使用。在该群体中，共用针头和其他注射材料是一种常见的风险行为。此外，他们更有可能接受阿片类药物激动剂治疗，并在过去接受过 HCV 和 HIV 检测。这项研究代表了一项重要的努力，旨在更好地了解葡萄牙 PWID 中的 HCV 流行率和感染行为相关性，并更好地估计需要 HCV 治疗的人数。
