Publications by authors named "Jeremy Ireland"
Int J Drug Policy
June 2024
Article Synopsis
- The review aimed to understand global patterns of drug use among people who inject drugs in order to guide interventions that reduce related harms.
- A systematic search of literature from 2008-2022 examined data on recent and lifetime drug use across 81 countries, revealing significant usage statistics for heroin, amphetamines, tobacco, and alcohol.
- The findings showed notable geographical differences in drug use, with East and Southeast Asia having the highest recent heroin use, while North America had the highest amphetamine use, illustrating the complexity of drug consumption patterns worldwide.
Lancet Glob Health
December 2023
Article Synopsis
- People who inject drugs are heavily impacted by HIV and hepatitis C virus infections, but there is a lack of global data on their testing and treatment coverage, prompting a systematic review to gather this information.
- The review involved searching various databases for studies published between January 2017 and April 2022, focusing on the proportions of people who inject drugs receiving testing and treatment for HIV and HCV across different countries.
- The findings revealed that of the data analyzed, about 48.8% of people who inject drugs were recently tested for HIV antibodies and 47.1% had ever been tested for HCV antibodies, with some countries showing notably high testing coverage.
Lancet Glob Health
May 2023
Article Synopsis
- The study conducted a global systematic review to assess the prevalence of injecting drug use (IDU) and its associated harms, including infections like HIV and hepatitis, as well as overdose.
- Researchers analyzed a vast number of reports published from 2017 to 2022 to gather data on socio-demographic characteristics, risk exposures, and health outcomes related to IDU.
- The findings revealed that 14.8 million individuals aged 15-64 worldwide inject drugs, with a notable gender disparity in the prevalence of IDU, as well as unique risks faced by women and transgender individuals.
