Human immunodeficiency virus infection and related risk behavior in people who inject drugs in Nepal
Article Category: Brief communication (Original)
Published Online: Mar 31, 2017
Page range: 609 - 617
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.1006.531
Keywords
© 2016 Sampurna Kakchapati, Dipendra Raman Singh, Bir Bahadhur Rawal, Appiradee Lim
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Background
Injecting drugs is major driver of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in Nepal.
Objectives
To estimate the HIV prevalence and to examine factors associated with it among people who inject (illicit) drugs (PWID) in Nepal.
Methods
The present study was based on data secondary to Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) surveys of PWID in Nepal from 2002 to 2015. A χ2 test was used to determine significant risk factors for HIV infection. A logistic regression model was used to identify the most important determinants for HIV infection.
Results
We included cross-sectional data from 7,073 PWID in the surveys from 2002 to 2015 in this retrospective observational study; among these 1,257 (17.8%) had tested HIV positive. The prevalence of HIV infection showed a sharp decrease from 2002 (68%) to 2015 (6.2%). After adjusting each factor for the confounding effects of other factors, year, region, age, education, and duration of injecting drags were significantly associated with HIV (
Conclusions
HIV infection shows a steady decreasing trend, but the number of cases remains high. The factors strongly contributing to HIV were advanced age, Kathmandu region, low educational achievement, and longer duration of injecting drags. Intensified and focused programs are needed to reduce the HIV in the region focusing on its associated risk behaviors.