Risk factors for HIV-1 seroconversion among injection drug users: a case-control study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. A nested case-control study was conducted in Miami, Fla, to determine risk factors associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) seroconversion among injection drug users. METHODS. The study identified 21 incident cases of HIV-1 infection and 76 unmatched controls from two longitudinal cohorts of injection drug users. One cohort consisted of individuals who originally had been recruited from treatment centers; a second cohort was recruited from the "street." Logistic regression analyses that adjusted for age, gender, and race were performed. RESULTS. The final model determined that the primary independent risk factor that best explained the risk for seroconversion was sharing injection equipment in the year prior to conversion; a marginal risk factor was presence of sexually transmitted disease during this same period. CONCLUSIONS. Both an injection component and a sexual component play a role in seroconversion among injection drug users, although the injection component is much stronger.