HIV in UK Prisons: A Review of Seroprevalence, Transmission and Patterns of Risk

Summary: Prisons contain individuals at high risk of HIV infection, notably through intravenous drug use. For complex political, social and legal reasons penal institutions in the UK are unable to provide condoms and clean needles. The outbreak of HIV and hepatitis B that occurred in a Scottish prison in 1993 focused attention on the potential problems. Debate about the issue is hampered by a lack of useful information. Current data about risk behaviour and seroprevalence is reviewed, and compared with experience in other countries. Injecting drug use in prison appears to be common, and the majority who inject in prison share equipment, which can be used many times. Sexual activity may be a smaller risk factor, but does occur between men in prison. In addition, prisoners appear to have high rates of partner change between sentences. The true prevalence of HIV in UK prisons is difficult to assess, but the available data suggest it is between 0.1 and 4.5%, lower than in Southern Europe and the USA. A window of opportunity still exists to prevent further outbreaks of HIV in UK penal institutions and to maintain these low prevalence rates. Strenuous, and possibly unpalatable measures are needed now.

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Gender differences in characteristics of drug users presenting to a Dublin syringe exchange

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0790966700005504 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 131-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tony Geoghegan ◽

Mary O'Shea ◽

Gemma Cox

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Drug Use ◽

Drug User ◽

Sexual Partner ◽

Drug Users ◽

Risk Behaviour ◽

Syringe Exchange ◽

Intravenous Drug Use ◽

Female Clients ◽

Injecting Drug User

AbstractObjectives: This study explores the gender difference in patterns of drug use, risk behaviour, health and well-being among 934 new attenders at a Dublin syringe exchange.Method: Over the period May 1997 to April 1998 data was collected by means of structured interviews with all clients who presented for the first time at Merchant's Quay health promotion unit. All information collected was based on clients' self-reported behaviour.Results: Of the new clients, 24.3% were female and 75.7% were male. The female clients were significantly younger than their male counterparts (p < 0.0001). The women were significantly more likely to report having a sexual partner who was an injecting drug user (OR 9.04, 95% CI, 5.9-13.9) and to be living with an injecting drug user (OR 1.69, 95% CI, 1.2-2.3). They were also significantly more likely to share injecting equipment with their sexual partner (OR = 3.83, 95% CI, 2.7-5.5) and to report recently sharing injecting paraphernalia (OR = 1.79, 95% CI, 1.3-2.5). However, the interval between initiating intravenous drug use and first presenting at the Merchant's Quay health promotion unit was significantly shorter for female clients (p < 0.0001).Conclusions: One of the most important concerns with regard to illicit intravenous drug use is that of needle sharing, and the associated risks of infection with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis. This study highlights the greater personal involvement of women with other drug users, and its consequences in terms of healthrelated problems and risk behaviour. There is a need to address this issue, by taking advantage of the fact that women present for treatment at a younger age than their male counterparts and at a much earlier stage in their injecting career.

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Non-medical use of loperamide in the UK and the USA

QJM ◽

10.1093/qjmed/hcz215 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 113 (1) ◽

pp. 25-30

Author(s):

N E Webb ◽

D M Wood ◽

J C Black ◽

E Amioka ◽

R C Dart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Prescription Drugs ◽

Adult Population ◽

Opioid Receptor Agonist ◽

Problematic Drug ◽

International Environment ◽

The Us ◽

The Usa ◽

The Uk ◽

Therapeutic Doses

Summary Background Loperamide is a mu-opioid receptor agonist that is available as an over-the-counter anti-motility agent in the US and UK; recommended maximum doses of 12-16 mg/day. Anecdotal reports of non-medical use (NMU) have increased over the past decade with supra-therapeutic doses (70-800 mg/day) associated with cardiotoxicity. Little data exists on the prevalence of loperamide NMU. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of loperamide NMU in the UK and US and to describe characteristics of non-medical loperamide users. Design The Researched, Abuse, Diversion and Addiction Related Surveillance (RADARS® ) Survey of Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs (NMURx) was utilized to study NMU of loperamide among the adult population in the UK and US in 2017. The RADARS® NMURx is anonymous and self-administered online. Methods A total of 40,029 completed surveys were included (10,019 from the UK and 30,010 from the US). Respondents were asked questions about medical and NMU of loperamide, frequency of and reasons for NMU, route of use problematic drug use markers, and demographics. Results Prevalence of lifetime loperamide use (95% CI) and lifetime NMU of loperamide were: UK 28.5% (27.67-29.4), and 0.66% (0.5-0.8), respectively; US 33.7% (33.1-34.2), and 5.19% (4.9-5.5), respectively. Problematic drug use markers were elevated in those who reported NMU of loperamide in both the UK and US, however high-risk use was more prevalent in the UK than in the US. Conclusion NMU of loperamide is common. In the current international environment of opioid addiction involving both therapeutic and illicit opioids, awareness of the NMU of loperamide is important.

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Drug policy, intravenous drug use, and heroin addiction in the UK

British Journal of Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjon.2011.20.14.878 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 20 (14) ◽

pp. 878-884 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jemell Geraghty

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Drug Policy ◽

Intravenous Drug ◽

Heroin Addiction ◽

Intravenous Drug Use ◽

The Uk

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Research Trends in Octopus Biological Studies

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061808 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1808

Author(s):

Anna Di Cosmo ◽

Claudia Pinelli ◽

Anna Scandurra ◽

Massimo Aria ◽

Biagio D’Aniello

Keyword(s):

Brain Evolution ◽

Current Data ◽

Research Trends ◽

Model Studies ◽

Growth And Nutrition ◽

Biological Studies ◽

The Usa ◽

Pollution Impact ◽

Number Of Publications ◽

The Uk

Octopuses represent interesting model studies for different fields of scientific inquiry. The present study provides a bibliometric analysis on research trends in octopuses biological studies. The analysis was executed from January 1985 to December 2020 including scientific products reported in the Web of Science database. The period of study was split into two blocks (“earlier period” (EP): 1985−2010; “recent period” (RP): 2011−2020) to analyze the evolution of the research topics over time. All publications of interest were identified by using the following query: ((AK = octopus) OR (AB = octopus) OR (TI = octopus)). Data information was converted into an R-data frame using bibliometrix. Octopuses studies appeared in 360 different sources in EP, while they increased to 408 in RP. Sixty countries contributed to the octopuses studies in the EP, while they were 78 in the RP. The number of affiliations also increased between EP and RP, with 835 research centers involved in the EP and 1399 in the RP. In the EP 5 clusters (i.e., “growth and nutrition,” “pollution impact,” “morphology,” “neurobiology,” “biochemistry”) were represented in a thematic map, according to their centrality and density ranking. In the RP the analysis identified 4 clusters (i.e., “growth and nutrition,” “ecology,” “pollution impact,” “genes, behavior, and brain evolution”). The UK with Ireland, and the USA with Canada shared the highest number of publications in the EP, while in the RP, Spain and Portugal were the leading countries. The current data provide significant insight into the evolving trends in octopuses studies.

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An Exploration of the External Validity of Self-Report amongst Arrestees

Surveillance & Society ◽

10.24908/ss.v2i4.3364 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Patton

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Drug Use ◽

External Validity ◽

Drug Consumption ◽

Self Report ◽

Consumption Data ◽

Self Reports ◽

The Usa ◽

The Uk ◽

Very High

Self-report validation surveys in the USA focussing on arrestees' self-reports unequivocally demonstrate that they do not validly report their recent drug consumption despite being a highly drug involved group. Like their American counterparts, English arrestees display very high levels of drug consumption. Data used from the NEW-ADAM programme (1998) is used to explore the external validity of arrestees' self-reports to drug consumption in the 3 days prior to interview. Drug consumption in the UK has become a normalized activity among adolescents, young adults and 'clubbers'. Arrestees and young offenders have recently been added to this list. Therefore the normalization of drug use provides an interesting context through which to view the present findings amongst arrestees.

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Review of HIV Infection and Intravenous Drug Use.

Contemporary Psychology ◽

10.1037/033464 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 655-656

Author(s):

Terri Gullickson

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Intravenous Drug ◽

Intravenous Drug Use

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The Role of Schools in Community-Based Approaches to Prevention of AIDS and Intravenous Drug Use

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e496482006-012 ◽

1990 ◽

Author(s):

Lewayne D. Gilchrist ◽

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Intravenous Drug ◽

Intravenous Drug Use ◽

Community Based

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An early mainstream economist from Hungary: István Varga (1897–1962)

Acta Oeconomica ◽

10.1556/aoecon.53.2003.2.4 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 195-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

K. Majoros

Keyword(s):

Austrian Economic ◽

National Income ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

Turbulent Times ◽

The Usa ◽

New Ideas ◽

Modern Economic ◽

The Uk ◽

Economic Thinking ◽

Lasting Influence

The study introduces a Hungarian economic thinker, István Varga*, whose valuable activity has remained unexplored up to now. He became an economic thinker during the 1920s, in a country that had not long before become independent of Austria. The role played by Austria in the modern economic thinking of that time was a form of competition with the thought adhered to by the UK and the USA. Hungarian economists mainly interpreted and commented on German and Austrian theories, reasons for this being that, for example, the majority of Hungarian economists had studied at German and Austrian universities, while at Hungarian universities principally German and Austrian economic theories were taught. István Varga was familiar not only with contemporary German economics but with the new ideas of Anglo-Saxon economics as well — and he introduced these ideas into Hungarian economic thinking. He lived and worked in turbulent times, and historians have only been able to appreciate his activity in a limited manner. The work of this excellent economist has all but been forgotten, although he was of international stature. After a brief summary of Varga’s profile the study will demonstrate the lasting influence he has had in four areas — namely, business cycle research and national income estimations, the 1946 Hungarian stabilisation program, corporate profit, and consumption economics — and will go on to summarise his most important achievements.

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