Prevalence of, and risk factors for, HIV, hepatitis B and C infections among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To describe drug use, sexual risks and the prevalence of blood-borne viral infections among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs).

Design

A voluntary unlinked-anonymous cross-sectional biobehavioural survey.

Setting

19 needle and syringe programmes across England and Wales.

Participants

395 men who had injected IPEDs.

Results

Of the participants (median age 28 years), 36% had used IPEDs for <5 years. Anabolic steroids (86%), growth hormone (32%) and human chorionic gonadotropin (16%) were most frequently injected, with 88% injecting intramuscularly and 39% subcutaneously. Two-thirds also used IPEDs orally. Recent psychoactive drug use was common (46% cocaine, 12% amphetamine), 5% had ever injected a psychoactive drug and

SUBMITTER: Hope VD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3773656 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature