Author information
1
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Electronic address: jack.stone@bristol.ac.uk.
2
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
3
Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
4
Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
5
Department of Family Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
6
Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
7
Section of Infectious Diseases, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei City Government, Taipei, Taiwan.
8
James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
9
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
10
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Division of AIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
11
Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
12
Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
13
Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
14
Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center, Tbilisi, Georgia.
15
Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center, Tbilisi, Georgia; Faculty of Medicine, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
16
National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Addictology, The First Medical Faculty, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic; National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
17
University Hospital Centre of Québec Research Centre-Laval University, QC, Canada; National Institute of Public Health of Québec, QC, Canada.
18
National Institute of Public Health of Québec, QC, Canada; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke, Longueuil, QC, Canada.
19
International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kiev, Ukraine.
20
Department of Epidemiology, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, KY, USA; Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky, KY, USA.
21
Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky, KY, USA.
22
Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK; National Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
23
National Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
24
School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; Health Protection Scotland, National Health Service National Services Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
25
School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.
26
Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
27
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
28
Yale School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
People who inject drugs (PWID) experience a high prevalence of incarceration and might be at high risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection during or after incarceration. We aimed to assess whether incarceration history elevates HIV or HCV acquisition risk among PWID.
METHODS:
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for studies in any language published from Jan 1, 2000 until June 13, 2017 assessing HIV or HCV incidence among PWID. We included studies that measured HIV or HCV incidence among community-recruited PWID. We included only studies reporting original results and excluded studies that evaluated incident infections by self-report. We contacted authors of cohort studies that met the inclusion or exclusion criteria, but that did not report on the outcomes of interest, to request data. We extracted and pooled data from the included studies using random-effects meta-analyses to quantify the associations between recent (past 3, 6, or 12 months or since last follow-up) or past incarceration and HIV or HCV acquisition (primary infection or reinfection) risk among PWID. We assessed the risk of bias of included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Between-study heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic and the P-value for heterogeneity.
FINDINGS:
We included published results from 20 studies and unpublished results from 21 studies. These studies originated from Australasia, western and eastern Europe, North and Latin America, and east and southeast Asia. Recent incarceration was associated with an 81% (relative risk [RR] 1·81, 95% CI 1·40-2·34) increase in HIV acquisition risk, with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=63·5%; p=0·001), and a 62% (RR 1·62, 95% CI 1·28-2·05) increase in HCV acquisition risk, also with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=57·3%; p=0·002). Past incarceration was associated with a 25% increase in HIV (RR 1·25, 95% CI 0·94-1·65) and a 21% increase in HCV (1·21, 1·02-1·43) acquisition risk.
INTERPRETATION:
Incarceration is associated with substantial short-term increases in HIV and HCV acquisition risk among PWID and could be a significant driver of HCV and HIV transmission among PWID. These findings support the need for developing novel interventions to minimise the risk of HCV and HIV acquisition, including addressing structural risks associated with drug laws and excessive incarceration of PWID.
FUNDING:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, National Institutes of Health.