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The relationship between age and risky injecting behaviours among a sample of Australian people who inject drugs
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 18:14 authored by Horyniak, D, Dietze, P, Degenhardt, L, Higgs, P, McIlwraith, F, Alati, R, Raimondo BrunoRaimondo Bruno, Lenton, S, Burns, LBackground: 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 riskyinjecting behaviours.Methods: Data were taken from 11 years of a repeat cross-sectional study of sentinel samples of regularPWID (The Australian Illicit Drug Reporting System, 2001–2011). Multivariable Poisson regression wasused to explore the relationship between age and four outcomes of interest: last drug injection occurredin 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).Results: Data from 6795 first-time study participants were analysed (median age: 33 years, interquar-tile range [IQR]: 27–40; median duration of injecting: 13 years [IQR: 7–20]). After adjusting for factorsincluding duration of injecting, each five year increase in age was associated with significant reductions inpublic injecting (adjusted incidence rate ratio [AIRR]: 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88–0.92), nee-dle 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 inage was associated with an average 10% reduction in the risk of heroin overdose (AIRR: 0.90, 95% CI:0.85–0.96).Conclusions: Older PWID report significantly lower levels of high-risk injecting practices than youngerPWID. Although they make up a small proportion of the current PWID population, younger PWID remainan important group for prevention and harm reduction.
Funding
Department of Health and Aged Care
History
Publication title
Drug and Alcohol DependenceVolume
132Pagination
541-546ISSN
0376-8716Department/School
School of Psychological SciencesPublisher
Elsevier Ireland LtdPlace of publication
IrelandRights statement
Copyright 2013 Published by Elsevier IrelandRepository Status
- Restricted