Human immunodeficiency virus infection in a cohort of intravenous drug users in New York City. Demographic, behavioral, and clinical features.

In 1985, 454 intravenous drug users were recruited from among patients scheduled for physical examination in methadone treatment clinics in New York City. A questionnaire was administered, and serum was collected for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serology. The HIV seroinfection rate was 60.6%, with antibody and antigen detected in 58.4% and 4.3%, respectively, of the population. Nineteen percent of 307 subjects were in Group III or Group IV of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classification system for HIV-associated infections. Only behavioral factors (p = 0.001) and clinical indicators (p = 0.003) were found to distinguish the HIV-infected from the non-infected subjects. Frequent use of intravenous drugs (p = 0.016), duration of drug use (p = 0.050), and duration of drug treatment enrollment (p = 0.038) were significantly associated with HIV seroinfection status and CDC stage of HIV disease. These findings strongly support aggressive efforts to reduce parenteral drug use and enroll intravenous drug users into effective drug treatment programs.