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Drug use and risk among people who inject drugs regularly: exploring age-related differences

image - IDRS Bulletin Dec 12
Author: Kerryn Butler, Lucy Burns

Resource Type: Drug Trends Bulletins

  • Significant differences between the three age groups; young adults (≤29), adults (30- 49) and older adults (50+) were found in this sample.
  • The older adults were more likely to be male and identify as heterosexual than the young adults and the adults.
  • The young adults and the adults reported initiating injecting earlier than the older adults.
  • Patterns of drug use were similar although the older adults were more likely to nominate heroin as drug of choice and less likely to nominate methamphetamine as their drug of choice. ƒ
  • The older adults were less likely to report having a mental health problem in the previous six months compared to the adults.
  • The older adults were more likely to report a prison history and least likely to report being arrested in the previous month.