Age cohort differences in illicit drug use and hepatitis C among African American substance users.

Identifying prognostic indicators for undiagnosed Hepatitis C is crucial to attenuate the negative impact of this disease. This study explored the influence of recent and more distal injection drug use on biologically confirmed Hepatitis C infection among a sample (N = 260) of older and younger African Americans. Data from the baseline assessment of the NEURO-HIV epidemiologic study was analyzed using confounder adjusted regression techniques. Older adults were more likely to test positive for Hepatitis C (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.53-5.11) due to lifetime injection drug use (AOR = 5.37, 95% CI = 3.10-9.28). Clinical implications are discussed.