| Title |
Incidence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Illicit Drug Users in Italy
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Urban Health, December 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11524-017-0207-5 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Enea Spada, Giovanni Rezza, Anna Rosa Garbuglia, Flavia Lucia Lombardo, Ornella Zuccaro, Francesca Menniti Ippolito, Elisabetta Cupellaro, Stefania Capone, Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Alfredo Nicosia, Riccardo Cortese, Antonella Folgori, Alfonso Mele, The Collaborative Study Group |
| Abstract |
So far, only three small outdated studies have investigated hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence and risk factors among illicit drug users (DUs) in Italy. Thus, during 2007-2010, we conducted a prospective cohort study among DUs attending 17 Italian rehabilitation centers serving urban areas. Two hundred eighty-four HCV-uninfected DUs were prospectively followed by interview and anti-HCV antibody and RNA testing every 6 months. Incidence was calculated using the person-years method. Infection predictors were assessed by time-dependent Cox analysis. Participants were mostly male (83.4%), under opioid substitution therapy (OST) (78.9%), non-injecting DUs (67.9%), and with a mean age of 30.8. Ninety-one of 224 DUs initially under OST interrupted treatment during the follow-up. Overall HCV incidence was 5.83/100 person-years at risk (PYAR) [95% confidence intervals (CI), 3.63-9.38]. The incidence did not significantly differ according the participants' sociodemographic characteristics or the degree of urbanization of the towns involved in the study. The incidence was higher for DUs under than for those not under OST (6.23 vs 4.50/100 PYAR; p = 0.681). Incidence was also higher for those with than for those without OST interruption (7.17 vs 5.04/100 PYAR; p = 0.55). However, all these differences were non-significant. At last follow-up visit, a significant decrease in frequency of sharing equipment for preparation/using drugs (by injection or not) was observed by analyzing either the whole cohort or DUs under OST only. Anti-HCV seroconversion resulted independently associated with sharing drug preparation/use equipment, backloading, having a HCV-positive sexual partner, or household and (marginally) intravenous injection. In this study, HCV incidence was non-negligible and OST seemed to lack effectiveness in reducing it. In Italy, implementation of combined harm reduction interventions and antiviral treatment of chronically infected DUs would be needed. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 5 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 | 80% |
| Unknown | 1 | 20% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 5 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 62 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 62 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 8 | 13% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 10% |
| Student > Master | 5 | 8% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 6% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 6% |
| Other | 9 | 15% |
| Unknown | 26 | 42% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing and Health Professions | 9 | 15% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 9 | 15% |
| Psychology | 4 | 6% |
| Social Sciences | 4 | 6% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 6 | 10% |
| Unknown | 28 | 45% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 January 2018.
All research outputs
#13,059,768
of 23,009,818 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Urban Health
#951
of 1,295 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#203,806
of 439,388 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Urban Health
#4
of 11 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,009,818 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,295 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 23.4. This one is in the 25th percentile – i.e., 25% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 439,388 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 54% of its contemporaries.