Association of opioid agonist therapy with lower incidence of hepatitis C infection in injection drug users

Importance - Injection drug use is the primary mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Prior studies suggest opioid agonist therapy may reduce the incidence of HCV infection among injection drug users; however, little is known about the effects of this therapy in younger users.

Objective - To evaluate whether opioid agonist therapy was associated with a lower incidence of HCV infection in a cohort of young adult injection drug users.

Conclusions - In this cohort of young adult injection drug users, recent maintenance opioid agonist therapy was associated with a lower incidence of HCV infection. Maintenance treatment with methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use disorders may be an important strategy to prevent the spread of HCV infection among young injection drug users.

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