       Document 0527
 DOCN  M9440527
 TI    An international comparative study of HIV prevalence and risk behaviour
       among drug injectors in 13 cities. WHO Collaborative Study Group.
 DT    9404
 SO    Bull Narc. 1993;45(1):19-46. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/94138314
 AB    Although reported rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
       and related risk behaviours among drug injectors vary considerably
       throughout the world, and comparison of findings is often hampered by
       methodological variability among centres. In 1989 the World Health
       Organization initiated a comparative study of current drug-injecting
       behaviour and HIV infection using a standardized methodology. Centres
       were asked to recruit at least half of their samples outside drug
       treatment settings in order to achieve as representative a group of
       injectors as possible. Respondents were interviewed using a
       questionnaire designed by an international working group, and they were
       asked to provide blood and/or saliva specimens for voluntary testing.
       Data from 13 centres (Athens, Bangkok, Berlin, Glasgow, London, Madrid,
       Naples, New York, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Sydney and Toronto) are
       reported here. A total of 6,390 injectors were recruited to the study
       from October 1989 to March 1992, with sample sizes ranging from 85 at
       Santos (Brazil) to 1,300 in New York. Weekly or daily sharing of
       injecting equipment was reported by less than a quarter of injectors in
       all centres. A high proportion of those sharing made some effort to
       clean equipment before use, although not always by efficient methods. In
       all centres, the majority of respondents were sexually active; however,
       rates of unprotected sexual intercourse were high, particularly between
       regular sexual partners. The overall HIV prevalence rate was 22 per
       cent, ranging from 0 per cent in Athens to 60 per cent in Santos.
       Caution should be exercised in postulating a link between HIV prevalence
       and current risk behaviour, particularly since injectors appear to
       behave in similar ways across a diverse range of study locations. This
       is the first report on an international collaborative study for which a
       large number of injectors were successfully recruited from a variety of
       settings. The wealth of data now available provides a greater
       understanding of the social epidemiology of drug injecting, which is
       essential for the implementation and evaluation of campaigns and
       interventions designed to limit the spread of HIV infection.
 DE    Adolescence  Adult  AIDS Serodiagnosis  Comparative Study
       Condoms/UTILIZATION  Cross-Cultural Comparison  Human  *HIV
       Seroprevalence  *Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice  Needle
       Sharing/STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  *Population Surveillance  Prevalence
       *Risk-Taking  Substance Abuse, Intravenous/COMPLICATIONS/EPIDEMIOLOGY/
       *PSYCHOLOGY  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.  Urban
       Population  *World Health  World Health Organization  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

