"IV Cocaine Use Linked to AIDS Risk"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"IV Cocaine Use Linked to AIDS Risk"

Boston Globe (12/19/91), P. 3

Abstract: Cocaine use by intravenous means may substantially increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV, even more than the risk associated with using heroin and other IV drugs, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. The scientists studied 2,597 active IV drug users in Baltimore and discovered the rate of infection with HIV was more than three times higher for recent cocaine injectors than for all other recent IV drug users. One possibility for the discrepancy is that IV cocaine users inject themselves more often, or are more apt to use HIV-tainted needles or engage in unprotected sex. Another possibility suggested by the researchers is that cocaine alone may weaken the immune system, making injectors more susceptible to HIV infection.

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