The Lexington addicts, 1971-1972: demographic characteristics, drug use patterns, and selected infectious disease experience.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1990. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

The Lexington addicts, 1971-1972: demographic characteristics, drug use patterns, and selected infectious disease experience.

Int J Addict. 1989 Jul;24(7):609-26. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/90093544
Lange WR; Ball JC; Pfeiffer MB; Snyder FR; Cone EJ; Addiction Research Center, National Institute on Drug Abuse,; Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract: The demographics, drug habits, and medical complications of a cohort of 1,129 addicts treated at Lexington in the period 1971-1972 were studied. These patients, admitted from 41 different states, had a mean period of addiction of 5.4 years. Over one-third of the sample had engaged in pimping or prostitution, and there were no differences by gender in terms of involvement. Eight-eight percent had shared injection equipment, and surprisingly, 78% admitted to some effort at sterilizing their works. Hepatitis was the most common associated medical condition: 87% had serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, 60% had evidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) exposure, and 47% had abnormal liver function parameters. Gynecomastia was evident in 2% of male subjects. Thirteen percent of the sample had a reactive VDRL assay, but 64% of these were biologically false positive. Subtle abnormalities of immune function were also observed; 18% of the patients had recent unexplained weight loss, 6% had lymphadenopathy, 8% had leukopenia, and 2% had lymphocytopenia. We conclude that both HBV and HAV were important infectious disease risks in these addicts, and that many evidenced deficiencies in immune function well before AIDS became a major public health concern.

Keywords: Adolescence Adult Age Factors Cohort Studies Communicable Diseases/*EPIDEMIOLOGY/TRANSMISSION Cross-Sectional Studies Female Heroin Dependence/COMPLICATIONS Human Incidence Kentucky Male Middle Age Narcotic Dependence/*EPIDEMIOLOGY Risk Factors Sex Factors *Street Drugs Substance Abuse, Intravenous/COMPLICATIONS/*EPIDEMIOLOGY Substance Dependence/*EPIDEMIOLOGY JOURNAL ARTICLE
900430
M9040595

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