Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies

© 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction Aims: To test if polysubstance use profiles and drug-related outcomes differ between those receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies (OST) among people who inject drugs (PWID). Design: An annual cross-sectional, sentinel sample of PWID across...

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Main Authors: Betts, K., Chan, G., McIlwraith, F., Dietze, P., Whittaker, E., Burns, L., Alati, Rosa
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73175
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author Betts, K.
Chan, G.
McIlwraith, F.
Dietze, P.
Whittaker, E.
Burns, L.
Alati, Rosa
author_facet Betts, K.
Chan, G.
McIlwraith, F.
Dietze, P.
Whittaker, E.
Burns, L.
Alati, Rosa
author_sort Betts, K.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction Aims: To test if polysubstance use profiles and drug-related outcomes differ between those receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies (OST) among people who inject drugs (PWID). Design: An annual cross-sectional, sentinel sample of PWID across Australia. Setting: Data came from 3 years (2011–13) of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). Participants: A total of 2673 participants who injected drugs from the combined national IDRS samples of 2011 (n = 868), 2012 (n = 922) and 2013 (n = 883). Measurements: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to summarize participants' self-reported use of 18 types of substances, with the resulting polysubstance use profiles then associated with participant experience of a number of drug-related outcomes. Findings: Polysubstance use profiles exhibiting a broad range of substance use were generally at increased risk of negative drug-related outcomes, whether or not participants were receiving OST, including thrombosis among OST receivers [odds ratio (OR) = 2.13, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.09–4.17], injecting with used needles among OST receivers and non-receivers, respectively (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.50–5.13; OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.34–3.45) and violent criminal offences among OST receivers and non-receivers, respectively (OR =2.30, 95% CI = 1.16–4.58; OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.14–3.07). An important exception was non-fatal overdose which was related specifically to a class of PWID who were not receiving OST and used morphine frequently (OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.06–3.17). Conclusion: Regardless of opioid substitution therapies usage, people who inject drugs who use a broad-range of substances experience greater levels of injecting-related injuries and poorer health outcomes and are more likely to engage in criminal activity than other groups of people who inject drugs.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-731752018-12-13T09:35:22Z Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies Betts, K. Chan, G. McIlwraith, F. Dietze, P. Whittaker, E. Burns, L. Alati, Rosa © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction Aims: To test if polysubstance use profiles and drug-related outcomes differ between those receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies (OST) among people who inject drugs (PWID). Design: An annual cross-sectional, sentinel sample of PWID across Australia. Setting: Data came from 3 years (2011–13) of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). Participants: A total of 2673 participants who injected drugs from the combined national IDRS samples of 2011 (n = 868), 2012 (n = 922) and 2013 (n = 883). Measurements: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to summarize participants' self-reported use of 18 types of substances, with the resulting polysubstance use profiles then associated with participant experience of a number of drug-related outcomes. Findings: Polysubstance use profiles exhibiting a broad range of substance use were generally at increased risk of negative drug-related outcomes, whether or not participants were receiving OST, including thrombosis among OST receivers [odds ratio (OR) = 2.13, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.09–4.17], injecting with used needles among OST receivers and non-receivers, respectively (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.50–5.13; OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.34–3.45) and violent criminal offences among OST receivers and non-receivers, respectively (OR =2.30, 95% CI = 1.16–4.58; OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.14–3.07). An important exception was non-fatal overdose which was related specifically to a class of PWID who were not receiving OST and used morphine frequently (OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.06–3.17). Conclusion: Regardless of opioid substitution therapies usage, people who inject drugs who use a broad-range of substances experience greater levels of injecting-related injuries and poorer health outcomes and are more likely to engage in criminal activity than other groups of people who inject drugs. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73175 10.1111/add.13339 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. restricted
spellingShingle Betts, K.
Chan, G.
McIlwraith, F.
Dietze, P.
Whittaker, E.
Burns, L.
Alati, Rosa
Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title_full Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title_fullStr Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title_full_unstemmed Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title_short Differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
title_sort differences in polysubstance use patterns and drug-related outcomes between people who inject drugs receiving and not receiving opioid substitution therapies
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73175