| Title |
Problematic use of prescription-type opioids prior to heroin use among young heroin injectors
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Substance abuse and rehabilitation, October 2011
|
| DOI | 10.2147/sar.s24800 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Robin A Pollini, Caleb J Banta-Green, Jazmine Cuevas-Mota, Mitcheal Metzner, Eyasu Teshale, Richard S Garfein |
| Abstract |
BACKGROUND: Misuse of prescription-type opioids and related adverse health effects are increasing, but little is known about the role of these drugs as a precursor to heroin use. We conducted an exploratory study to determine the proportion of young heroin injectors reporting problematic use of prescription-type opioids prior to using heroin, and to describe the factors associated with prior problematic prescription-type opioid use. METHODS: Between March 2009 and June 2010, we recruited injection drug users (IDUs) for a cross-sectional study of hepatitis C virus infection risk. Participants were aged 18-40 years and had injected illicit drugs within the previous six months. A computerized self-administered survey assessed sociodemographics, drug use history, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus risk behaviors and perceptions, and medical history. We added questions on prescription-type opioid use to the parent study in March 2010; heroin injectors who subsequently enrolled and reported problematic prescription-type opioid use prior to heroin initiation were compared with other heroin IDUs using univariate and multivariate regression methods. RESULTS: Among 123 heroin IDUs, 49 (39.8%) reported problematic prescription-type opioid use prior to heroin initiation ("prescription-type opioid first injection drug users" [PTO-First IDUs]). PTO-First IDUs had higher odds of injecting with friends (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 6.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.90-19.07), getting new syringes from a spouse/family member/sex partner (AOR 23.0; 95% CI 2.33-226.0), knowing about the local syringe exchange program (AOR 7.28; 95% CI 1.17-45.05), using powder cocaine (AOR 3.75; 95% CI 1.43-9.86), and perceiving themselves as less likely than other IDUs to get HIV (AOR 4.32; 95% CI 1.26-14.77). They had lower odds of ever being tested for HIV (AOR 0.25; 95% CI 0.08-0.80). CONCLUSION: A high proportion of young heroin IDUs reported problematic prescription-type opioid use prior to initiating heroin use. Our study provides several avenues for future investigation to help further characterize this subset of IDUs and their risks and perceptions related to HIV and other blood-borne pathogens. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 50% |
| Canada | 1 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 50% |
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 88 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2 | 2% |
| Unknown | 86 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 18 | 20% |
| Researcher | 13 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 9% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 8 | 9% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 7% |
| Other | 14 | 16% |
| Unknown | 21 | 24% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 22 | 25% |
| Social Sciences | 13 | 15% |
| Psychology | 6 | 7% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 5 | 6% |
| Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 3 | 3% |
| Other | 12 | 14% |
| Unknown | 27 | 31% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 27. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 August 2017.
All research outputs
#1,405,385
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Substance abuse and rehabilitation
#23
of 125 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#6,325
of 143,955 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Substance abuse and rehabilitation
#1
of 3 outputs
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