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Table 1 Baseline characteristics amongst the 172 IDUs

From: Gender differences in mortality and risk factors in a 13-year cohort study of street-recruited injecting drug users

Characteristics

Females

Males

x 2, p-value

Total

n = 44 (100%)

n = 128 (100%)

n = 172

Age groups

  ≥ 30 years

22 (50%)

85 (66%)

x 2 = 3.8 p = 0.053*

107 (62%)

> Mandatory years of educationa

  Yes

29 (66%)

94 (73%)

x 2 = 0.9 p = 0.340

123 (72%)

Work income

  Yes

1 (2%)

25 (20%)

x 2 = 7.6 p = 0.006**

26 (15%)

Sex work

  Yes

21 (48%)

0

x 2 = 69.6 p < 0.001***

21 (12%)

Theft

  Yes

15 (34%)

50 (39%)

x 2 = 0.3 p = 0.557

65 (38%)

Dealing

  Yes

14 (32%)

50 (39%)

x 2 = 0.7 p = 0.391

64 (37%)

Monthly income > 33,000 NKRb

  Yes

27 (61%)

57 (45%)

x 2 = 3.7 p = 0.054*

84 (49%)

Years of injecting career

  > 5 years

32 (73%)

105 (82%)

x 2 = 1.2 p = 0.279

137 (80%)

Drug use in the previous four weeks

Daily or almost daily injections

  Yes

42 (95%)

113 (88%)

x 2 = 1.9 p = 0.169

155 (90%)

Heroin most injected

  Yes

43 (98%)

113 (88%)

x 2 = 3.5 p = 0.063*

156 (91%)

To have injected > 12.9 grams of heroinc

  Yes

29 (66%)

67 (52%)

x 2 = 2.4 p = 0.118

96 (56%)

Combined heroin and prescription drugs in injections

  Yes

20 (45%)

33 (26%)

x 2 = 5.9 p = 0.015**

53 (31%)

Any use of prescription drugs

  Yes

32 (73%)

67 (52%)

x 2 = 5.6 p = 0.018**

99 (58%)

Alcohol ≥2 days a week or more

  Yes

10 (23%)

31 (24%)

x 2 = 0.04 p = 0.841

41 (24%)

Cannabis ≥2 days a week or more

  Yes

13 (30%)

52 (41%)

x 2 = 1.7 p = 0.191

65 (38%)

  1. *p < 0.10, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.
  2. aIn Norway all children are expected by law to attend school for 10 years. Prior to 1997, it was nine years.
  3. bThe cut-off was set at the median total income in Norwegian Kroner in the total sample. In 2013 33,000 NKR amounts to 3,560 GBP.
  4. cThe cut-off was set at the median amount of heroin injected by the total sample which was 12.9 grams of heroin injected in the past month.