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Methamphetamine use and malnutrition among street-involved youth Werb, Dan; Kerr, Thomas; Zhang, Ruth; Montaner, Julio; Wood, Evan

Abstract

We sought to explore the effect of crystal methamphetamine use on the risk of experiencing malnutrition among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. Risk of malnutrition was defined as being hungry but not having enough money to buy food. Socio-demographic and drug use factors associated with risk of malnutrition were investigated using univariate and multivariate analysis among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth known as the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS). Between September 2005 and December 2006, 509 street-involved youth were enrolled in ARYS, among whom 21% reported being at risk of malnutrition as defined above in the previous six months. In multivariate analysis, only non-injection crystal methamphetamine was significantly associated with being at risk of malnutrition among this cohort (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.60, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.03 - 2.48, p = 0.036). Interventions seeking to address food insecurity among street youth may benefit from considering drug use patterns since methamphetamine use predicted higher risk in this setting.

Item Metadata

Title
Methamphetamine use and malnutrition among street-involved youth
Creator
Werb, Dan; Kerr, Thomas; Zhang, Ruth; Montaner, Julio; Wood, Evan
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2010-03-08
Description
We sought to explore the effect of crystal methamphetamine use on the risk of experiencing malnutrition among street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada. Risk of malnutrition was defined as being hungry but not having enough money to buy food. Socio-demographic and drug use factors associated with risk of malnutrition were investigated using univariate and multivariate analysis among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth known as the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS). Between September 2005 and December 2006, 509 street-involved youth were enrolled in ARYS, among whom 21% reported being at risk of malnutrition as defined above in the previous six months. In multivariate analysis, only non-injection crystal methamphetamine was significantly associated with being at risk of malnutrition among this cohort (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.60, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.03 - 2.48, p = 0.036). Interventions seeking to address food insecurity among street youth may benefit from considering drug use patterns since methamphetamine use predicted higher risk in this setting.
Geographic Location
Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2016-01-08
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0223222
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/56356
Affiliation
Medicine, Department of; Medicine, Faculty of
Citation
Harm Reduction Journal. 2010 Mar 08;7(1):5
Publisher DOI
10.1186/1477-7517-7-5
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Werb et al.
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)