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High Uptake of HIV Testing in a Cohort of Male Injection Drug Users in Delhi, India: Prevalence and Correlates of HIV Infection

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Abstract

We report baseline findings from a longitudinal cohort study to examine HIV incidence, high-risk injection and sexual behaviors of 3,792 male injection drug users (IDUs) in Delhi. The majority (95.4 %) accepted HIV testing; HIV prevalence was 21.9 %. In multivariate analysis, belonging to states adjacent to Delhi (AOR: 1.23; 95 % CI: 1.07–1.52), earning INR 500–1,500 (AOR: 2.38; 95 % CI: 1.43–3.96); duration of drug use 2–5 years (AOR: 2.02; 95 % CI: 1.09–3.73), 6–10 years (AOR: 2.81; 95 % CI: 1.55–5.11), ≥11 years (AOR: 3.35; 95 % CI: 1.84–6.11); prior HIV testing (AOR: 1.60; 95 % CI: 1.35–1.91), self-reported risky-injection behavior (AOR: 1.60; 95 % CI: 1.33–1.92), and utilization of harm-reduction services (AOR: 1.32; 95 % CI: 1.11–1.58) were positively associated with HIV infection. Alcohol use ≤2 times/week (AOR: 0.67; 95 % CI: 0.55–0.82) or ≥3 times/week (AOR: 0.74; 95 % CI: 0.54–1.01), unit increase in age (AOR: 0.99; 95 % CI: 0.98–1.00), ≥7 years of schooling (AOR: 0.82; 95 % CI: 0.66–1.02) and unsafe sex with any female partner (AOR: 0.69; 95 % CI: 0.55–0.86) were negatively associated with HIV infection. HIV prevalence remains high among male IDUs in Delhi. HIV prevention programs should include comprehensive package of services for IDUs.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this project was provided by the Arise Program—Enhancing HIV Prevention Programs for At-Risk populations, through financial support provided by the Canadian Government through the Canadian International Development Agency, and via financial and technical support provided by PATH. The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of PATH, the Canadian Government, or the Canadian International Development Agency. We would like to acknowledge Dr Matthew F. Chersich for critically reviewing the paper. We extend our thanks to Dr Neeraj Dhingra, Deputy Director General, NACO, Mr JK Misra, Joint Director Targeted Interventions, Delhi State AIDS Control Society and Dr Julie Pulerwitz at PATH for their support to the project. We would like to thank Sahara’s team of dedicated staff without whom this project would be impossible to implement. All laboratory testing was undertaken by Super Religare Laboratories, Gurgaon, India. And finally, our deepest thanks to the study participants for their willingness to share this information with us.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Council, Zone 5A, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 110003, India

    Avina Sarna

  2. Population Council, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 280, Washington, DC, 20008, USA

    Waimar Tun

  3. Population Council, 142 Golf Links, New Delhi, 110003, India

    Vartika Sharma, Mary Sebastian & Amita Yadav

  4. Sahara Centre for Residential Care and Rehabilitation, B-9/11 Chandan Singh Market, IGNOU Road, Saidulajab, New Delhi, 110030, India

    Ira Madan & Dean Lewis

  5. One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA

    Meredith Sheehy

  6. ARISE Project, PATH, 1800 K Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC, 20006, USA

    Ibou Thior

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  1. Avina Sarna
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Correspondence to Avina Sarna.

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Sarna, A., Tun, W., Sharma, V. et al. High Uptake of HIV Testing in a Cohort of Male Injection Drug Users in Delhi, India: Prevalence and Correlates of HIV Infection. AIDS Behav 17, 2479–2489 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0442-z

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