SynthesisDrug and alcohol dependence2012
Are females who inject drugs at higher risk for HIV infection than males who inject drugs: an international systematic review of high seroprevalence areas.
Synthesis in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06789523 (Friendship Bench for Women Who Use Methamphetamine in Vietnam), which is not on this map. Cited by 84 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Friendship Bench for Women Who Use Methamphetamine in Vietnam
Who cites it
84 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 133 citations in OpenAlex.
- Incidence of HIV and hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs, and associations with age and sex or gender: a global systematic review and meta-analysis.The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2023Pooled it
- HIV seroprevalence in five key populations in Europe: a systematic literature review, 2009 to 2019.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2021Pooled it
- The PrEP Care Continuum Among Cisgender Women Who Sell Sex and/or Use Drugs Globally: A Systematic Review.AIDS and behavior · 2020Pooled it
- A Global Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis C Virus, and Hepatitis B Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs-Do Gender-Based Differences Vary by Country-Level Indicators?The Journal of infectious diseases · 2019Pooled it
- Gender disparities in HIV infection among persons who inject drugs in Central Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2013Pooled it
- Effects of a social network intervention on HIV seroconversion among people who inject drugs in Ukraine: moderation by network gender composition.Harm reduction journal · 2023Trial
- HCV communication within ego-centric networks of men and women who inject drugs.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Gender differences among criminal justice-involved persons living with HIV interested in extended-release naltrexone treatment.Substance abuse · 2021Trial
- Assessment of an electronic and clinician-delivered brief intervention on cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use among women in a reproductive healthcare clinic.Addictive behaviors · 2019Trial
- Gender differences in social networks of women and men who inject drugs in Kenya.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- "The Simplest Way to Go": An Exploration of Why Women Who Inject Drugs Chose Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir Instead of Daily Oral PrEP.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Drug use and sexual behaviors among women who inject drugs and use a syringe services program; Miami, Florida.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Spatial epidemiology of nonfatal overdose in a community-based cohort of marginalized women in Vancouver, British Columbia (2014-2022).Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- PrEP Awareness, Interest, and Use among Women Who Inject Drugs in Seattle, Washington: A Mixed Methods Study.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Review
- Fostering Safety, Support, and Hope: A Qualitative Study of Multistakeholder Perspectives on Designing Health Care Services for Women Who Use Drugs in Seattle, Washington, 2023.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Sex Differences in the Development of an Opioid Addiction-Like Phenotype: A Focus on the Telescoping Effect.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2024Article
- "If you're strung out and female, they will take advantage of you": A qualitative study exploring drug use and substance use service experiences among women in Boston and San Francisco.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Interrogating perceived relevance and feasibility of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: A novel model of PrEP acceptability among cisgender women who inject drugs.SSM. Qualitative research in health · 2023Article
- Intersections between syndemic conditions and stages along the continuum of overdose risk among women who inject drugs in Mexicali, Mexico.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThere are multiple reasons why females who inject drugs may be more likely to become infected with HIV than males who inject drugs. Where this is the case, special HIV prevention programs for females would be needed.
designInternational systematic review and meta-analysis of studies across 14 countries.
methodsCountries with high seroprevalence (>20%) HIV epidemics among persons who inject drugs (PWID) were identified from the Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use. Systematic literature reviews collected data on HIV prevalence by gender for these countries. Non-parametric and parametric tests along with meta-analytic techniques examined heterogeneity and differences in odds ratios (OR) across studies.
resultsData were abstracted from 117 studies in 14 countries; total sample size N = 128,745. The mean weighted OR for HIV prevalence among females to males was 1.18 [95% CI 1.10-1.26], with high heterogeneity among studies (I(2)= 70.7%). There was a Gaussian distribution of the log ORs across studies in the sample.
conclusionThere was a significantly higher HIV prevalence among females compared to males who inject drugs in high seroprevalence settings, but the effect size is extremely modest. The high level of heterogeneity and the Gaussian distribution suggest multiple causes of differences in HIV prevalence between females and males, with a specific difference determined by local factors. Greater understanding of factors that may protect females from HIV infection may provide insights into more effective HIV prevention for both females and males who inject drugs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.