Objectives: To investigate prevalence and risk fac-tors of syphilis infection among injection drug users(IDUs) in Lianshan Yizu Autonomous Region ofSichuan province, China.Methods: From November 8th 2002 to November29th 2002, a community-based cross-sectional surveywas conducted to investigate the demographic charac-teristics and sexual behaviors of a population of IDUs.Blood samples were collected to test for syphilisinfection. A total of 379 subjects were recruitedfor the study through community outreach and peerrecruiting methods.Results: Of 379 IDUs, the syphilis prevalence amongIDUs was 15.3% (58/379). Gender, years of education,history of unprotected sex with non-steady sex part-ner in the last month, number of sex partners in thelast 6 months, frequency of sex with non-steady sexpartner in the last 6 months, and number of any newsex partner(s) in the last 6 months were associatedwith syphilis infection after univariate analysis usingthe chi-squared test. Multivariate logistic regressionanalysis showed that ethnicity (OR, 2.85; 95% CI,1.55-5.25), marriage (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.04-3.62)and receiving money for sex in the last 6 months (OR, ,5.60; 95% CI, 2.65-11.85) were significantly associ-ated with syphilis infection among IDUs.Conclusions: This study found that receiving moneyfor sex in the last 6 months was significantly associ-ated with syphilis prevalence among IDUs. It isrecommended that further health education andintervention campaigns be focused on IDUs to promotesafe sexual practices.
