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Psychiatric, Behavioural and Social Risk Factors for HIV Infection Among Female Drug Users

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Abstract

Female drug users report greater psychopathology and risk behaviours than male drug users, putting them at greater risk for HIV. This mixed-methods study determined psychiatric, behavioural and social risk factors for HIV among 118 female drug users (27% (32/118) were HIV seropositive) in Barcelona. DSM-IV disorders were assessed using the Spanish Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders. 30 participants were interviewed in-depth. In stepwise multiple backward logistic regression, ever injected with a used syringe, antisocial personality disorder, had an HIV seropositive sexual partner and substance-induced major depressive disorder were associated with HIV seropositivity. Qualitative findings illustrate the complex ways in which psychiatric disorders and male drug-using partners interact with these risk factors. Interventions should address all aspects of female drug users’ lives to reduce HIV.

Resumen

Las mujeres consumidoras de drogas presentan más psicopatología y conductas de riesgo que los consumidores, exponiéndolas a un riesgo mayor de contraer la infección por el VIH. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar, mediante metodología mixta, los factores de riesgo psiquiátricos, comportamentales y sociales para la infección por el VIH en 118 mujeres consumidoras de drogas (27% (32/118) seropositivas para el VIH) en Barcelona. Los trastornos psiquiátricos (según criterios DSM-IV) se evaluaron mediante la versión española de la Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders. Se entrevistaron a 30 mujeres en profundidad. En la regresión logística, los factores que se asociaron a la infección por el VIH fueron la inyección con jeringuillas usadas previamente, tener el trastorno de personalidad antisocial, una pareja sexual con infección por el VIH y tener una depresión mayor inducida por sustancias. Los análisis cualitativos ilustraron la complejidad con que los trastornos psiquiátricos y las parejas consumidoras interactúan con estos factores de riesgo. Las intervenciones diseñadas para reducir la infección del VIH deberían abordar diferentes aspectos de la vida de las mujeres usuarias de drogas.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) (fellowship grant #106953-43-RFAT), RD06/0001/1009 and FIS PI 07/0342. We would like to thank the staff and patients from CAS Barceloneta, CAS Extracta La Mina, CAS Sants, CAS Garbivent, Hospital del Mar Inpatient Detoxification Unit, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol Inpatient Detoxification Unit, Dual Diagnosis Unit Centre Forum-Hospital del Mar and Juanse Hernández from the HIV treatments working group for their participation in the study. We are especially grateful to Joan Mestre, Francina Fonseca, Laura Diaz, Diana Martinez and Clara Perez for assisting with data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Substance Use Disorders Research Group, IMIM-Hospital del Mar, Parc de Salut Mar de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Gail Gilchrist, Alicia Blazquez & Marta Torrens

  2. Centre for Applied Social Research, School of Health and Social Care, The University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus, London, SE9 2UG, UK

    Gail Gilchrist

  3. Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions, Parc de Salut Mar de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Torrens

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Torrens

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  1. Gail Gilchrist
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Correspondence to Gail Gilchrist.

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Gilchrist, G., Blazquez, A. & Torrens, M. Psychiatric, Behavioural and Social Risk Factors for HIV Infection Among Female Drug Users. AIDS Behav 15, 1834–1843 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-9991-1

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