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Evolution of illicit opioid use among people with HIV infection in St Petersburg, Russia, in the period 2004–2015
Author(s) -
Blokhina E,
Krupitsky EM,
Cheng DM,
Walley AY,
Toussova O,
Yaroslavtseva T,
Gnatienko N,
Bridden C,
Forman LS,
Bendiks S,
Samet JH
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/hiv.12741
Subject(s) - heroin , medicine , opioid , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , demography , confidence interval , illicit drug , substance abuse , psychiatry , family medicine , drug , receptor , sociology
Objectives In the late 1990s, when the current Russian opioid epidemic began, illicit opioids used in Russia consisted almost exclusively of heroin. The type of opioids used has evolved in the early 21st Century. The objective of this study was to describe the evolution of illicit opioid use among people living with HIV ( PLWH ) reporting recent opioid use in St Petersburg, Russia. Methods We examined baseline data from four research studies conducted in the period 2004–2015 that included PLWH who used opioids [Partnership to Reduce the Epidemic Via Engagement in Narcology Treatment (PREVENT; 2004–2005; n = 17), HIV Evolution in Russia–Mitigating Infection Transmission and Alcoholism in a Growing Epidemic ( HERMITAGE ; 2007–2010; n = 281), Linking Infectious and Narcology Care ( LINC ; 2013–2014; n = 119) and Russia Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (Russia ARCH ; 2012–2015; n = 121)] and reported recent use of heroin and other opioids. Results Although these studies spanned more than a decade, the participants represented similar birth cohorts; the mean age was 24.5 years in 2004 and 33.3 years in 2014. The use of opioid types, however, evolved across cohorts, with the use of any illicit drug other than heroin increasing from 6% [95% confidence interval ( CI ) 000.2, 29%] in PREVENT (2004–2005) to 30% (95% CI 25, 36%) in HERMITAGE (2007–2010) to 70% (95% CI 61, 78%) in LINC (2013–2014) to 77% (95% CI 68, 84%) in ARCH (2012–2015). Any heroin use consistently decreased over the 10‐year period in the cohorts, from 100% (95% CI 80, 100%) in 2004–2005 to 54% (95% CI 44, 63%) in 2012–2015. Conclusions Among PLWH who use opioids in St Petersburg, Russia, illicit use of opioids other than heroin appears to be more common than heroin use.