Author information
1 Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
2 Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
With the nation's focus on the opioid crisis, methamphetamine has made a comeback, potentially increasing risk for hepatitis B. We examined factors associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure among people who reported ever using methamphetamine in a nationally representative survey.
METHODS:
We utilized the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine factors associated with HBV exposure among participants who reported ever using methamphetamine using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression.
RESULTS:
Overall, 847 participants met the study inclusion criteria. In multivariable logistic regression, female sex (aOR 3.83, 95% CI 1.65 - 8.90), living below the poverty threshold (aOR 3.17, 95% CI 1.39 - 7.21), injection drug use (IDU) (aOR 4.89, 95% CI 1.95 - 12.26), active hepatitis C (HCV) infection (aOR 3.39, 95% CI 1.10 - 12.26), and identifying as men who have sex with men (aOR 28.21, 95% CI 5.19 - 153.38) were significantly associated with HBV exposure.
CONCLUSIONS:
The odds of HBV exposure for females who reported using methamphetamine was four times higher than males. Poverty, IDU, and HCV infection were also associated. As methamphetamine use increases, it is critical to identify those at risk of acquiring HBV infections in order to target testing and vaccination.