Population Characteristics

The final sample was 376 persons with SMI: 155 Caucasian and 221 African-American military veterans, of whom over 90% were men (see Table 1). Compared with Caucasians, African Americans were younger, a smaller proportion were currently married, and a greater proportion were institutionalized or homeless. There were no racial differ ences in educational status or having at least one child. A greater proportion of African Americans had a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and drug use disorders, fewer were diagnosed with PTSD or bipolar disorder, and a smaller proportion had experienced combat exposure. Over 40% of the study cohort had an alcohol use disorder, with no racial difference observed.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Study Population, Shown by Race

HBV and HCV Infection Rates and Risk Factor Prevalence

For HBV, the overall seroprevalence rate was 21.3%. It was a new diagnosis for 65% (52 of 80) of the HBV-positive patients. African Americans had a higher HBV rate than did Caucasians: 27.6% versus 12.3%; OR=2.73; 95% CI=1.55,4.79 (Table 2). The overall HCV seroprevalence was 18.9%, and, for 56% (40 of 71) of the HCV-positive patients, it was a new diagnosis. The HCV rate was also higher in African Americans; although this difference was not statistically significant, a trend was observed: 21.3% versus 15.5%; OR=1.47; 95%CI=0.86,2.53.
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Table 2. Hepatitis В and С Prevalence Rates and Risk Factors, Shown by Race

African Americans were also more likely to have a self-report of a drug use disorder than were Caucasians. No racial differences in lifetime IDU and sharing needles were observed. African Americans were significantly more likely than Caucasians to report smoking crack and sniffing or snorting drugs over their lifetime. Cialis Jelly

Among sexual risk behaviors, African Americans were more likely to report engaging in sex for drugs and were more likely than Caucasians to report having multiple sex partners in the past six months.

Table 3. Hepatitis В and С Logistic Regression Models

Multivariable Analysis

After adjusting for other important factors, we found that African Americans continued to have a higher risk of testing positive for HBV: OR=2.79; 95% СU.41, 5.53 (see Table 3). Notably, the multi-variable analysis did not eliminate or weaken the association for race. Other factors also significantly associated with HBV seropositivity were IDU (OR=4.54; 95% CI=2.28, 9.04) and having multiple sex partners in the last six months (OR=2.01; 95% CI=1.06,3.78). In contrast, in the multivariable analysis, race was not significantly related to serostatus for HCV (OR=1.52; 95% CI=0.61, 3.79), but IDU (OR=40.53; 95% CI=16.72, 98.24) and use of crack cocaine (OR=5.20; 95% CI=1.91, 14.17) remained independent risk factors for HCV seropositivity.
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