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Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of this presentation participants will be able to describe trends in hepatitis B and C seroprevalence and risk factors in young Seattle-area injection drug users.
Background:
Injection drug users (IDU) are at high risk for hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection. To assess changes in the transmission patterns of these viruses, we evaluated trends in HBV and HCV seroprevalence and risk factors for infection from four studies of IDU in the Seattle area.
Methods:
We analyzed data from 1,581 participants, 18-30 years old, recruited from 5/1/1994 to 1/31/2004. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potentially confounding factors.
Results:
HBV seroprevalence declined from 42% in 1994 to 15% in 2004 (p for trend <0.001). HCV seroprevalence showed a similar decline, from 68% to 32% (p for trend < 0.001). These declines persisted after control for demographic, drug-related and sexual behavior characteristics. Declines were evident within the individual component studies but were not statistically significant in each. The proportion of participants reporting HBV vaccination, any use of condoms, and the needle exchange as the primary needle source all increased significantly. There was, however, little evidence of change in measures of injection equipment sharing.
Conclusions:
Young Seattle-area IDU have significantly and substantially reduced their level of seroprevalence for HBV and HCV. There is evidence they have increased their practice of some preventive behaviors, though we cannot determine with precision the specific causes of the decline.
See more of D3 - Hepatitis Infection in IDUs: Current Epidemiologic Trends
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference