Patterns of HIV risk and alcohol use among African-American crack abusers

Although the association between heavy alcohol use and HIV risk has been st udied in treatment populations, we know little about patterns of alcohol us e and HIV risk among out-of-treatment African-American drug users. This stu dy examines the extent to which alcohol use affects HIV risk in a sample of 495 African-American crack users who did not inject drugs. We present diff erences between levels of alcohol and crack use with regard to sexual pract ices (including sex while impaired), number of partners, frequency of sexua l activity, and condom use. The findings suggest an intimate relationship b etween alcohol use, crack use, and sexual risks for HIV infection. Responde nts who reported frequent use (15-30 days in the last 30 days) of alcohol, crack, or both displayed significantly greater risk than those who reported less than frequent use. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.