| BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVEToday, drug abuse is a global public health problem in the world, for which is harmful to the health of the abusers and can result in the transmission of various infectious diseases, such as hepatitis C, sexually transmitted diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), et al.Once drug abuser comes into being psychological dependence on heroin, they can not free themselves of narcotics. After taking heroin for long time, the abuser will be easily infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) because of the decreased resistance to infectious pathogen. Needle sharing is a risk factor for contracting blood-borne infections among injecting drug users (IDUs).The main medium of HIV transmission is blood. Once HIV infected human, it will hide in the body for all lifetime and destroy the immune system. Human will secondarily infect other pathogen easily and endanger life indeed. Now there is no vaccines and effective clinical therapy for preventing and treating AIDSChronic hepatitis C is one of the most common infectious diseases all over theworld. In recent years, the infection rate of HCV via blood products is almost close to zero resulting from the government's strict management. However, the IDUs are increasing with the increase of heroin addicts, among which syringe needle sharing is a high risk factor for HCV infection. HCV infection can lead to the damage of liver function (ALT rise), and can develop into chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. As drug abuse and HCV infection have double side effects on the body, some drug addicts with HCV infection are easily coinfected by HIV, and cause greater physical harm to their body.The aim of this study is to understand the distribution of gender, age, education, occupation, marital status, drug use patterns, factors such as duration time among heroin addicts, to know the prevalence of HCV and HIV infections and the damage of liver function (serum ALT increase) and their influencing factors among addicts, and to provide scientific basis for drug prohibition and abandon.MATERIALS & METHODSBetween June 2002 and June 2005, 1452 heroin addicts were interviewed by questionnaire, in which the geographic characteristics such as sex, age, train received, occupation and marital status, type of drug addiction and years of taking drugs et al. Their serum samples were also collected to detect antibodies against HCV and HIV by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the level of ALT by bio-chemistry assay. To evaluate the relevant inflencing factors, the statistic analysis was finished in SPSS 11.5 for Windows by single factor and multifactor Logistic Regression Analysis.RESULTSAmong 1,452 cases with heroin addiction, male cases (1,063, 73.21%) were much more than female cases (389, 26.79%). As for the age distribution, the minimum was13 years old, the oldest was 56 years old, and the average was (28.52±5.41) years old. The number of cases with junior high school education was 718 (49.45%), which with senior high school education was 294 (20.25%), with elementary school was 276 (19.01%), and with no educational background was 164 (11.29%). As for occupation, 971 cases with no stable workwas the largest proportion (66.87%). As for marital status, 852 unmarried persons accounted for the largest proportion (58.68%), which followed by 487 married cases (33.54%) and then followed by 113 divorced cases (7.78%). Non-injecting drug abuse 891 cases (61.36%), injecting drug use 561 cases (38.64%). Drug life (among injecting drug group, the same below) : the shortest time for two months, for a maximum of 12 years, averaged 2.42±1.41 years.The detected results of 1452 heroin addicts by laboratory as follows, the infection rate of HCV was 15.36%, HIV was 1.72% and the rate of ALT rise was 19.63%.The risk factors of HCV and HIV infection and higher level of serum ALT among 1452 heroin addicts were analyzed , the results were as follows. The principal potential risk factors of HCV infection among heroin addicts would include occupation (individual odd ratio [OR] =0.265, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.164— 0.427 and worker OR=0.208, 95% C//0.094-0.457), type of taking drug(OR=2.488, 95% CI: 1.156—5.354), years of taking drug (OR=1.471, 95% CI: 1.174—1.845), HIV infection (OR=20.801, 95% C/5.676 — 76.228) and higher level of serum ALT(OR=2.656, 95% CI: 1.858-3.798). The principal potential risk factors of HIV infection among heroin addicts would include type of taking drug(OR= 11.050, 95% C/:1.392~87.715) and HCV infection (OR-20.254, 95% C/5.772-71.073). The principal potential risk factors of higher level of serum ALT among heroin addicts would include sex (OR=1.708, 95% C/.i .208-2.415), type of taking drug(OR=2.447, 95% C/.i.273—4.702), years of taking drug (OR=1.288, 95% C/.i.054-1.574), HCV infection (OR=2.693, 95% C/.i.913-3.792).CONCLUSIONSThe infectious rates of HCV and HIV were high as well as the rates of abnormity sera ALT level among heroin addicts.Among heroin addicts, the principal potential risk factors of HCV infection would include occupation, type of taking drug, years of taking drug, HIV infection and higher level of serum ALT, the jobless was more vulnerable to infect HCV than individual and worker, at the same time, IDUs, the increase in drug age, HIV infections and ALT unusual vulnerability to infect HCV. HIV infection was associated with the type of taking drug and HCV infection, i.e. the IDUs and the persons who infected HCV vulnerability to infect HIV. The sera ALT abnormal rise was associated with gender, the type of taking drug, years of taking drug and HCV infection, i.e. male, IDUs, longer drug users and HCV infection, which would easily lead to sera ALT unusual rise.There were relevance between HCV, HIV infection and sera ALT abnormal rise among heroin addicts, particularly, intravenous could lead to HCV, HIV infection rates rise and ALT unusual. We should focus on enhance education to improve the level to prevent the infection rate of HCV and HIV.
|
PDF Full Text Request