| Characteristic† | Recent frequent public injector* | ||
| Yes (n = 142)n (%) | No (n = 478)n (%) | OR (95% CI) | |
| Median age (IQR) | 26 (22 to 33) | 34 (26–41) | 0.92 (0.89 to 0.94) |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 81 (78) | 288 (22) | 1.14 (0.78 to 1.67) |
| Male | 61 (24) | 190 (76) | |
| Aboriginal ethnicity | |||
| Yes | 51 (25) | 152 (75) | 1.20 (0.81 to 1.78) |
| No | 91 (22) | 326 (78) | |
| Homelessness‡ | |||
| Yes | 72 (62) | 44 (38) | 10.15 (6.46 to 15.94) |
| No | 70 (14) | 434 (86) | |
| Frequent crack use‡ | |||
| Yes | 96 (30) | 228 (70) | 2.29 (1.54 to 3.40) |
| No | 46 (16) | 250 (84) | |
| Frequent heroin injector‡ | |||
| Yes | 80 (31) | 181 (69) | 2.12 (1.45 to 3.10) |
| No | 62 (17) | 297 (83) | |
| Frequent cocaine injector‡ | |||
| Yes | 46 (22) | 168 (78) | 0.88 (0.59 to 1.32) |
| No | 96 (24) | 310 (76) | |
| Overdose (non-fatal) ‡ | |||
| Yes | 15 (29) | 36 (71) | 1.45 (0.77 to 2.73) |
| No | 127 (22) | 442 (78) | |
| Requires help injecting‡ | |||
| Yes | 42 (30) | 97 (70) | 1.65 (1.08 to 2.52) |
| No | 381 (79) | 100 (21) | |
| Binge drug use‡ | |||
| Yes | 30 (25) | 91 (75) | 1.14 (0.72 to 1.81) |
| No | 112 (22) | 387 (78) | |
| Syringe borrowing‡ | |||
| Yes | 19 (33) | 38 (67) | 1.79 (1.00 to 3.21) |
| No | 123 (22) | 440 (78) | |
| Syringe lending‡ | |||
| Yes | 11 (28) | 29 (72) | 1.30 (0.63 to 2.67) |
| No | 131 (23) | 449 (77) | |
| Cooks and filters drugs‡ | |||
| Yes | 44 (13) | 283 (87) | 0.31 (0.21 to 0.46) |
| No | 98 (33) | 195 (67) | |
| Any addiction treatment‡ | |||
| Yes | 37 (15) | 211 (85) | 0.45 (0.29 to 0.68) |
| No | 105 (28) | 267 (72) | |
| Sex trade‡ | |||
| Yes | 35 (29) | 88 (71) | 1.51 (0.97 to 2.34) |
| No | 106 (21) | 390 (79) | |
| Drug dealing‡ | |||
| Yes | 19 (41) | 27 (59) | 2.58 (1.39 to 4.80) |
| No | 123 (21) | 451 (79) | |
| Recent incarceration‡ | |||
| Yes | 42 (38) | 68 (62) | 2.53 (1.63 to 3.94) |
| No | 100 (20) | 410 (80) | |
| Downtown Eastside residency‡ | |||
| Yes | 95 (25) | 291 (75) | 1.30 (0.88 to 1.93) |
| No | 47 (20) | 187 (80) | |
*Recent frequent public injector includes participants who report “always” or “usually” injecting in public in the previous 6 months
†Characteristics for recent frequent public injectors were measured at their first visit (during the study period December 2003 to November 2005), which involved a report of frequent public injecting. Characteristics for all other participants were measured from the first study visit during the study period
‡ Activities or situations referring to previous 6 months.
IQR, interquartile range.