Lifetime and past-month substance use and injection among street-based female sex workers in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Street-based female sex workers (FSWs) are highly at risk of HIV and other harms associated with sex work. We assessed the prevalence of non-injection and injection drug use and their associated factors among street-based FSWs in Iran. METHODS: We recruited 898 FSWs from 414 venues across 19 major cities in Iran between October 2016 and March 2017. Correlates of lifetime and past-month non-injection and injection drug use were assessed through multivariable logistic regression models. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. RESULTS: Lifetime and past-month non-injection drug use were reported by 60.3% (95% CI 51, 84) and 47.2% (95% CI 38, 67) of FSWs, respectively. The prevalence of lifetime and past-month injection drug use were 8.6% (95% CI 6.9, 10.7) and 3.7% (95% CI 2.6, 5.2), respectively. Recent non-injection drug use was associated with divorced marital status (AOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.07, 3.74), temporary marriage (AOR 4.31 [1.79, 10.40]), had > 30 clients per month (AOR 2.76 [1.29, 5.90]), ever alcohol use (AOR 3.03 [1.92, 6.79]), and history of incarceration (AOR 7.65 [3.89, 15.30]). Similarly, lifetime injection drug use was associated with ever alcohol use (AOR 2.74 [1.20-6.20]), ever incarceration (AOR 5.06 [2.48-10.28]), and ever group sex (AOR 2.44 [1.21-4.92]). CONCLUSIONS: Non-injection and injection drug use are prevalent among street-based FSWs in Iran. Further prevention programs are needed to address and reduce harms associated with drug use among this vulnerable population in Iran.

Poor oral health-related quality of life among pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impacts of oral health determinants (eg frequency of brushing < 2 day, poor life style and non-white ethnicity) and clinical oral caries indices (eg Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT)) and periodontal disease) on Poor Quality of Life (PQoL) among PW. METHODS: The search strategy was restricted to publications in English before 1 December 2019 in the PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science databases. We only included oral diseases considered as public health issues with a global burden. As a result, investigations reporting the frequency of brushing, poor lifestyle behaviours, non-white ethnicity, DMFT scores and periodontal disease as an outcome were included. The two reviewers resolved any disagreements. Reviewers analysed the full texts, considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Also, a manual search of the reference lists was performed on all the selected studies. RESULTS: In total, 11 publications were included in the meta-analysis. Findings indicate a positive association between non-white ethnicity and PQoL among PW. Among PW, those who had non-white ethnicity were 1.43 times more likely to have PQoL (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.17, 1.70). A positive association between DMFT and poor QoL among PW was also observed. Those who has suffered DMFT were 1.4 times more likely to have poor QoL (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.24, 1.55). CONCLUSIONS: Results from this meta-analysis support the need for behavioural interventions for improving oral hygiene in expectant mothers. This could help to decrease periodontal conditions and improve their oral and general life quality.

The Association of Oral Health Status, demographic characteristics and socioeconomic determinants with Oral health-related quality of life among children: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HQoL) indicators are considered valid measures of patient assessment in physical, mental and oral healthcare. This study aimed to examine the evidence on the relationship of oral health status, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children. METHODS: Studies in English published up to December 2019 were searched on PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Epidemiological studies simultaneously assessing sociodemographic factors related to oral health (age, income, gender, maternal education), oral health measures (orthodontic treatment needs, dental caries and periodontal disease) and OHRQoL in children aged 3-12 years were included. Methodological quality was assessed using a Critical Appraisal Checklist. Meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled measures between sociodemographic factors and oral health measures with OHRQoL. RESULTS: Eleven articles were included. Lower children's age (3-5 years vs > 5), gender (girls vs boys), lower income (< 70$ vs ≥ $70), low maternal education (≤ 6 vs > 6 years) were associated with poor OHRQoL among children. Orthodontic treatment needs, dental caries and periodontal diseases were also associated with poor children's OHRQoL. Meta-regression showed that Human Development Index, sample size, year of publication and participant's age were relevant aspects that influenced the above mentioned relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that oral health promotion strategies to improve children's OHRQoL should consider the social and environmental where they live as well their oral health status. Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore the determinants of OHQoL in children.

Dental caries and periodontal disease among people who use drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to perform a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis in order to investigate relationship between drug use and oral health. METHODS: We searched for studies in English published before July 1, 2019 on PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science. We assessed the relationship between drug use (methamphetamines, heroin; opiates; crack, cocaine and cannabis as dependent variables) and reported tooth loss, periodontal disease, or decayed, missing, and filled teeth index as an independent variable. The data were analyzed using Stata 12.0 software. RESULTS: We initially identified 1836 potential articles (with 1100 duplicates) and screened the remaining 736 titles and abstracts, comprising 54 studies. In the next step, we evaluated the full-texts; 44 studies were excluded, accordingly. In total, we included 10 publications in the meta-analysis. Drug type was associated with periodontal disease (OR 1.44; 95% CI 0.8-2.6) and pooled estimates showed that type of drug used increased the odds of the number of decayed, missed and filled teeth (DMFT) (OR 4.11; 95% CI 2.07-8.15) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical challenges of segregating the impact of individual drug types on oral health diseases mean that investigations on the direct relationship between oral health status and drug use are limited. Developing programs to improve potential confounding with various substances and addressing the dental health needs of people who use drugs is vital if we are to improve their overall quality of life.

HIV Risk Perception and Risky Behavior Among People Who Inject Drugs in Kermanshah, Western Iran.

PURPOSE: Understanding and increasing awareness on individual risk for HIV infection as well as HIV risk perception's effects on different behavioral outcomes for people who inject drugs (PWID) is important for policymaking and planning purposes. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether HIV risk perception was associated with greater injection and sexual risk-taking behaviors among PWIDs. METHOD: We surveyed 460 PWID in Kermanshah regarding their demographic characteristics, sexual risk behaviors, HIV risk perception, and drug-related risk behaviors in the month prior to the study. Three classes of HIV risk perception were identified using ordinal regression to determine factors associated with HIV risk perception. RESULTS: Study participants were categorized as follows: "low" (n = 100, 22%), "moderate" (n = 150, 32%), and "high" (n = 210, 46%) risk perception for becoming infected with HIV. The odds of categorizing as "high" risk for HIV was significantly greater in PWID that reported unprotected sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.4, p value 0.02), receptive syringe sharing (AOR 1.8, p value 0.01), and multiple sex partners (AOR 1.4, p value 0.03). PWID who reported unprotected sex had 2.7 times the odds of "high" risk perception when compared to PWID with "low" risk perception. CONCLUSION: Findings show that PWID could rate their HIV risk with acceptable accuracy. Additionally, perceived HIV risk was associated with many risk factors for transmission of HIV, emphasizing the importance of developing targeted prevention and harm reduction programs for all domains of risk behaviors, both sexual and drug-related use.

Comparing Characteristics of Early-Onset Injection Drug Users to Those With Late-Onset Injection in Kermanshah, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Characteristics and behaviors of early-onset injection drug users are under studied topics in Iran. This study aimed to identify and compare the demographic characteristics as well as the drug using behaviors of early-onset and late-onset injection drug users in Kermanshah, West Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study using snowball and convenience sampling, we recruited 450 people during the Fall of 2014 from two drop in centers in Kermanshah, Iran. We collected data through face-to-face interviews. Early-onset injection is defined as whether the person reported their first injection at 22 years of age or younger. Subsequently, late-onset injection is defined as 23 years of age or older. We compared the characteristics of the two groups through both univariate and multiple logistic analyses. RESULTS: Overall, 54% (CI 95%: 44.3%, 62.2%) were early injectors. After controlling for low socioeconomic status, initiation of drug use at a young age, multiple drug use and methamphetamine use were all significantly associated with a higher likelihood of early-onset injection. Additionally, early-onset injection was associated with recent syringe borrowing (OR = 2.6, p = 0.001), recent syringe lending (OR = 1.4, p = 0.01), recent cooker sharing (OR = 3.2, p = 0.01) and injecting two or more times a day (OR = 2.2, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Early-onset injectors were more likely to report a lower socioeconomic status, initiation of first drug use at a younger age, using methamphetamine alongside polydrug use, and engaging in higher risk taking behaviors like borrowing needles. With these associations, the study emphasizes the need for drug-prevention programs to focus on the transition to injection drug use at younger ages.

Drug type and risk behaviors associated with non-fatal overdose among people who use drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to determine the association between drug type, risk behaviors and non-fatal overdose among people who use drugs (PWUD). We searched for studies in English published before February 1, 2021, on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on the factors associated with non-fatal overdose among PWUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. After a detailed assessment of over 13,845 articles, a total of 49 studies met the eligibility criteria. We found that non-injection opioid use, heroin injection, cocaine use, concurrent use of buprenorphine and benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine use, incarceration, injecting drugs, and duration of injecting were associated with greater odds of non-fatal overdose among PWUD. The findings of the current meta-analysis support the requirement to improve suitable harm reduction strategies for drug users, such as peer-based overdose management, and further focusing on the need to balance the current emphasis on enforcement-based responses to illegal drug use with health-related interventions.

Prevalence, sociodemographic variables, mental health condition, and type of drug use associated with suicide behaviors among people with substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We assessed the prevalence, sociodemographic variables, mental health condition, and type of drug use associated with suicide behaviors among patients with substance use disorders (SUD). Studies in English published from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2020 were searched on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science to identify studies on variables associated with suicidal behaviors (ideations and attempts) among patients with SUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria: (i) population: patients with SUD; (ii) intervention: suicide behaviors in the past year; (iii) comparator: SUD who had not suicide behaviors; (iv) outcome: suicide ideations or attempts in the last year; and (v) study type: cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies. Out of 10,810 articles, 48 studies met eligibility criteria. Our findings showed a pooled prevalence rate of suicide ideations of 35% (95% CI, 22% 48%) and suicide attempts of 20% (95% CI, 17% 23%) in the last year among patients with SUD. Smoking, previous history of sexual abuse, depression, and alcohol and cannabis use disorders were significantly associated with suicide ideations. Study findings also showed that being female, smoking, history of physical and sexual abuse, depression and alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine use disorders, and polysubstance abuse were significantly associated with suicide attempts among patients with SUD. These findings have implications for developing prevention programs. Appropriate initiatives for reducing the risk of suicide behaviors like systematic assessments of changes in drug use pattern at the emergency departments or at other key health providers may be more broadly implemented. Motivational therapy to improve help-seeking, increased information on adverse consequences of heavy substance use, and crisis plan resolutions to face suicide behaviors could also be consolidated.

HIV testing and its associated factors among street-based female sex workers in Iran: results of a national rapid assessment and response survey.

BACKGROUND: Female sex workers (FSWs) are at a disproportionate risk of sexually transmitted infections and they may face significant barriers to HIV testing. This study aimed to examine HIV testing prevalence and its associated factors among street-based FSWs in Iran. METHOD: A total of 898 FSWs were recruited from 414 venues across 19 major cities in Iran between October 2016 and March 2017. Eligible FSWs were women aged 18 years of age who had at least one commercial sexual intercourse in the previous year. HIV testing was defined as having tested for HIV in the lifetime. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine the correlates of HIV testing. We report adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULT: Overall, 57.8% (95%CI: 20.0, 88.0) of participants reported having tested for HIV, and HIV prevalence among FSWs who tested for HIV was 10.3% (95%CI: 7.5, 13.0). The multivariable model showed that unstable housing (aOR: 8.86, 95%CI: 2.68, 29.32) and drug use (aOR: 3.47, 95%CI: 1.33, 9.06) were associated with increased likelihood of HIV testing. However, FSWs with a higher level of income were less likely to be tested for HIV (aOR: 0.09, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.43). CONCLUSION: Almost one in ten street-based FSWs had never tested for HIV. These findings suggest the need for evidence-based strategies such as outreach support and HIV self-testing to improve HIV testing in this marginalized population.

Factors associated with HIV testing among people who inject drugs: a meta-analysis.

HIV testing is the first step to early identification, treatment and management of HIV infection among people involved in high-risk behaviors specifically drug injection. Achieving declines in morbidity and mortality associated with HIV and reducing onward HIV transmission are key to testing and treatment. Evaluating the frequency of HIV testing among people who inject drugs (PWID) provides information that helps to identify missed opportunities to improve the efficacy of testing. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the association between HIV testing and risk taking behaviors among PWID. Two independent researchers reviewed the databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases, for manuscripts published between 2000 and 2017, to identify primary studies on the factors associated with HIV testing among PWID. After reviewing for duplication, the full texts of 16 articles were assessed for eligibility. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from the data collected. From the four databases 15,965 studies were identified. After evaluations of the citations, article title and abstracts 16 studies were included in the analysis. Findings indicate a significant association between HIV testing and having ≥6 years education (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.01-1.38), a history of imprisonment (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.30-2.53), access to needle syringe programs (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.00-2.21), and PWID attending a health professional or physician (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.17-1.74). Appropriate strategies to increase awareness of primary care physicians on the importance of regular HIV testing will help with global targets for HIV elimination among PWID.

Prevalence and high risk behaviours associated with HCV testing among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C diagnosis could be a gateway to behavioral change and subsequent decline in transmission among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). We assessed the association between the social determinants of PWID, their risk behaviors and hepatitis C testing. METHODS: We searched for studies in English published before May 1, 2020, on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on the factors associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing among PWID. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. i) population: individuals who report injecting drugs; ii) intervention: HCV testing in the past year; iii) comparator: PWIDs who did not have an HCV test; iv) outcome: HCV testing among PWIDs and v) study type: cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies. Two independent reviewers (author BA and AB) chose the references in a two-phased monitoring process. The authors gathered data from selected papers, including the surname of the first author, publication date, participant demographic data (age, sex, and level of education) and other characteristics like previous HCV testing, past treatment attempts, duration of injecting drug use and condomless sex. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence intervals. The data were analyzed using Stata 12.0 software. RESULTS: After a detailed assessment of over 12,000 articles, a total of 16 studies containing 38,952 participants met the eligibility criteria. Our findings showed a pooled prevalence rate of 61.01% (95% CI, 34.65-84.32%) for recent HCV testing among PWIDs. Being female (OR = 1.69, 95%CI = 1.13, 2.26), aged > 30 years, (OR = 2.61, 95%CI = 1.66-3.56) having past treatment attempt (OR = 2.24, 95%CI = 1.80-2.68), and reporting a previous test (OR = 2.03, 95%CI = 1.23-2.82). were significantly associated with having a recent HCV test.,,. Finding of present study was that unprotected sex had a negative association with HCV testing. Those PWIDs who had unprotected sex were 0.56 times less likely to have completed HCV testing during last year (OR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.33-0.78). CONCLUSION: Prevention programs that address age > 30 years, being female, past treatment attempt, previous testing of safe sexual practices, are strongly recommended to prioritize HCV risk reduction strategies.

HIV and drug related stigma and risk-taking behaviors among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The impact of HIV-related stigma on people living with HIV has been well documented, but there have been few studies examining how drug-related stigma impacts risk-taking in the lives of people who inject drugs (PWID). This meta-analysis aimed to determine HIV and drug-related stigma and the association it has with risk-taking behaviors among PWID. We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases independently in March 2019. After reviewing for any study duplicates the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. After a detailed assessment, a total of 14 studies containing 13,689 participants met the eligibility criteria. Among the potential risk factors: employment status, depression and sharing injecting paraphernalia had a significant relationship with HIV and drug stigma among PWIDs respectively (OR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.62-0.98), (OR = 1.84, 95%CI = 1.45-2.33) and (OR = 2.20, 95%CI = 1.84-1.63). Illicit drug use related stigma was found to be associated with several concurrent effects. The impact of stigma should be considered in the development of drug use prevention strategies. Perceived stigma is correlated with numerous negative consequences in other populations including people living with HIV/AIDS. These data suggest this could also be generalized to people who inject drugs because it seems that individuals with internalized stigma experience drug dependence, reduced comfort in seeking help from services and higher rates of depression.

Social and demographical determinants of quality of life in people who live with HIV/AIDS infection: evidence from a meta-analysis.

The aim of this meta-analysis is to summarize the available evidence on the social and demographic determinants of health-related quality of life (QoL) for HIV-infected populations in order to provide a direction to policy makers, planners, and program developers on how best to use their resources to improve the QoL of HIV-infected people.PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases were searched (up to February 2017) to identify the relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with procreate polled odds ratios (ORs and ß) and the confidence intervals of 95% on determining factors of QoL in social and demographic terms. Random effect model was applied to calculate pooled estimation, due to varied sampling methods of researches.In total, 5607 papers were identified from 4 databases and additional search in reference lists. Of these, 2107 articles were selected for full-text review. We included 19 studies that met the eligibility criteria. The pooled effect size shows a relative positive impact of social support for QoL among HIV/AIDS patients and its lower boundary is about 0.61 and the higher about 1.49. The pooled effect size has a considerable negative impact stigma on people who live with HIV/AIDS (PWLHs') QoL ranges from -0.34 to -0.32. Low socioeconomic status (poverty situation) was found to have a degenerative impact with PWLHs' QoL. Our finding indicates an association between younger 35 and QoL is negative with a relatively wide range, the minimum level of education has a weak association with PWLHs' QoL (ES: 0.14-0.2).There are several sociodemographic determinants of QoL among PWLHs and in this study, we found that stigma, low level of socioeconomic status, and being younger than 35 years old have a negative association with QoL, while the social support showed a positive association and a minimum level of education did not show a rigorous negative or positive association.

Comparing injecting and sexual risk behaviors of long-term injectors with new injectors: A meta-analysis.

The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of injection duration on injection and sexual high-risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID), in order to inform development of intensive HIV prevention services for selected PWID sub-populations. We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases independently in December 2018. After reviewing for duplication, full-texts of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using certain Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Our result indicated significant association between age of injection initiation > 17 years, frequency of drug injection > 5 times/day, injection by others, having sex partner, history of imprisonment with new injectors (OR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.87-0.98), (OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.29-0.73), (OR = 1.11, 95%CI = 1.05-1.17), (OR = 2.08, 95%CI = 1.02-3.14) and (OR = 1.20, 95%CI = 1.03-1.37). Our research found that new injectors were more likely to report frequency of injections injected by others, has sex partner and prison detention. Our findings are significant for policy makers and public health practitioners to implement and design HIV prevention programs among PWID with shorter periods of injection. The findings of the present study extend our knowledge about new injection drug users, the significance of assured behaviors at IDUs' initial injection, and the educational importance of syringe exchange programs.