Drug problem is a major social and public security problem in the world. Drug abuse poses a great threat to economic development, social stability and public health. In recent years, synthetic drugs represented by methamphetamine have surpassed traditional drugs such as morphine, heroin, ketamine and become one of the most abused drugs in the world. In order to solve the problem of drug abuse, it is of great theoretical value and practical significance to carry out all-round and multi-level scientific research on drug-related issues. Based on the current situation of drug abuse, this article reviews research progresses on the epidemiology of methamphetamine abuse, the monitoring technology, the basic researches on toxicity damage, the withdrawal drug screening, the related clinical comorbidity and the testing technologies, comprehensively presenting the development trend of methamphetamine abuse related issues.
Amphetamine-Related Disorders/epidemiology* ; Heroin ; Humans ; Illicit Drugs ; Methamphetamine/adverse effects* ; Substance Abuse Detection

OBJECTIVETo analyze the prevalence rates and associated risk factors on HIV, syphilis, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) among female sex workers (FSWs) in Jiaozhou, Shandong province.

METHODSThrough convenient sampling, an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted on female sex workers to collect related information. Blood specimens were drawn for serological tests on HIV, syphilis and HSV-2 antibodies, respectively. Patients with positive results from both treponema pallidum and HSV-2 tested by ELISA method, were defined as being superinfected.

RESULTSA total of 460 FSWs were recruited in this study. The prevalence rates of HIV, syphilis, HSV-2, and syphilis/HSV-2 superinfection were 0.22% , 5.9% , 43.0% , and 11.7% , respectively. Among the methamphetamine users, the prevalence rates of syphilis, HSV-2, and syphilis/HSV-2 superinfection were 12.4%, 55.2%, and 22.9%, respectively. Results from multivariate analysis showed that factors that significantly associated with syphilis infection would include: methamphetamine use (OR = 3.61, 95% CI:1.62-8.06), having first commercial sex intercourse at under 20 years of age (OR = 2.80, 95% CI:1.15-6.85), more than 2 establishments that the FSWs worked in the last month (OR = 4.37, 95%CI:0.83-22.83). Factors associated with HSV-2 infection were methamphetamine use (OR = 2.30, 95%CI:1.43-3.70), having first commercial sex intercourse at under 20 years of age (OR = 1.77, 95% CI:1.16-2.69), working at low-end establishments (OR = 2.61, 95%CI:1.66-4.10), working at the local sex-work venues for more than one year (OR = 2.01, 95% CI:1.28-3.14), with low education backgrounds (OR = 2.27, 95% CI:1.18-4.36), using methamphetamine (OR = 3.95, 95% CI:2.09-7.44), low education background (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.10-5.36), 21-30 year-olds (OR = 2.95, 95%CI:1.08-8.03), older than 31 years of age (OR = 7.05, 95% CI:2.48-20.01) etc., were independent risk factors associated with the superinfection of syphilis and HSV-2.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence rates of syphilis, HSV-2 and syphilis/HSV-2 superinfection were relatively high among FSWs in Jiaozhou, especially among the FSWs who were methamphetamine users.

Age Distribution ; Amphetamine-Related Disorders ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Educational Status ; Female ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; HIV Seropositivity ; Herpes Genitalis ; epidemiology ; Herpesvirus 2, Human ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Methamphetamine ; administration & dosage ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Serologic Tests ; Sex Work ; Sex Workers ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Superinfection ; epidemiology ; Syphilis ; epidemiology ; Treponema pallidum ; isolation & purification