Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41403896›Full record

ReviewCanada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada2025

Estimating the population size of people who inject drugs in Canada, 2021.

Anson Williams, Justin Sorge, Simone Périnet, Qiuying Yang, Joseph Cox, Matthew Bonn, Ashley Smoke, Nashira Popovic

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Anson WilliamsCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Justin SorgeCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Simone PérinetCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Qiuying YangCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Joseph CoxCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
Matthew BonnCanadian Association of People Who Use Drugs, Dartmouth, NS.
Ashley SmokeOntario Network of People Who Use Drugs, ON, Canada.
Nashira PopovicCentre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: People who inject drugs are disproportionately affected by HIV and hepatitis C infections. Estimating the size and distribution of this population is essential in monitoring infectious diseases rates and progress towards elimination. Objective: This study aims to estimate the population sizes of people in Canada who have ever injected drugs, stratified by sex (assigned at birth), province/region and steroid injection, and those who have recently injected drugs (past 12 months), stratified by sex and steroid injection. While a previous national study reported estimates of recent injection by province, this study provides the first estimates of people who have ever injected drugs at both the national and provincial/regional levels. It is also the first to incorporate stratification by sex and steroid injection, using the most currently available data. Methods: Using combined cycles (2017-2021) of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), a nationally representative population-based survey, we applied the weighted prevalence of injection drug use to the 2021 Statistics Canada national population size estimate of individuals aged 15 years or more. To this, further adjustments were made using additional data to account for populations not sampled in the CCHS and under-reporting of injection drug use in surveys. Results: In 2021, an estimated 388,400 (95% CI: 338,900-436,500) people in Canada had ever injected drugs, representing 1.22% of the Canadian population 15 years of age and older. Among these, 75% were male and 25% were female. These estimates varied across regions, ranging from 0.92% to 2.47%. The estimated number of people who have recently injected drugs was 100,300 (95% CI: 82,300-119,200) or 0.31% of the population, of which 74% were male and 26% were female. Conclusion: Estimates of people who inject drugs at the national and provincial/regional levels can be used to track key epidemiological metrics that inform public health policy and programming.

Indexed as

hepatitis CHIVinjection drug usepeople who inject drugspopulation size estimates

Identifiers

PMID41403896
PMCPMC12704403

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.