IV Drug Use Facts

IV Drug use facts and IV drug abuse statistics are alarming considering the extreme health and social dangers associated with this type of drug abuse.  In general IV drug use statistics in the U.S. indicate that of all addicts, this group is the most at risk of disease, imprisonment, violence, overdose and death.  As the following infographic points out, there are other concerns that most people never think about, such as the risk of Flesh Eating Bacteria.

Please scroll to the bottom of the IV Drug Abuse Facts Infographic to Verify Sources and Citations.  Please note that some data provided is correlated to a certain time frame or specific group of study subjects or individuals.  Therefore, careful review of the citations listed is necessary in order to fully understand U.S. IV Drug Abuse Statistics.

References:

Needle stick injuries in the community NCBI/US National Library of medicine Paediatr Child Health. 2008 March; 13(3): 205–210 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2529409/

Skin infections in IV drug users DermNet

Julie Steenhuysen UPDATE 1-HIV rate among US intravenous drug users falls-CDC Thu Mar 1, 2012 9:02pm REUTERS

Rick Sowadsky Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) and HIV statistics Sep 10, 1998 The Body

AIDS, Sexual Behavior, and Intravenous Drug Use By Committee on AIDS Research and the Behavioral, Social, and Statistical Sciences, National Research Council

Armstrong, GL Injection drug users in the United States, 1979-2002: an aging population. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Jan 22;167(2):166-73. NCBI/USNLM

Knox, Richard Needle Exchanges Often Overlooked In AIDS Fight July 24, 201211:51 AM NPR

Syringe Exchange Programs — United States, 2008 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) November 19, 2010 / 59(45);1488-1491

Pollini RA, McCall L, Mehta SH, Celentano DD, Vlahov D, Strathdee SA. Response to overdose among injection drug users. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-San Diego Am J Prev Med. 2006 Sep;31(3):261-4.

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