Author information

¹Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

²Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

³School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.

⁴Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

⁵Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

⁶Division of Infectious Disease and Chronic Viral Illness Service, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

⁷Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

⁸The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

⁹Kirketon Road Centre, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

¹⁰Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Metropolitana Nord, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.

¹¹Biomedical Research Networking Center in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

¹²Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

¹³School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Univerity of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

¹⁴Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.

¹⁵NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.

¹⁶National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a priority population in HCV elimination programming. Overcoming sex and gender disparities in HCV risk, prevention, and the cascade of care is likely to be important to achieving this goal, but these have not yet been comprehensively reviewed.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched Pubmed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1 January 2012-22 January 2024 for studies of any design reporting sex or gender differences among PWID in at least one of: sharing of needles and/or syringes, incarceration history, injection while incarcerated, participation in opioid agonist treatment or needle and syringe programs, HCV testing, spontaneous HCV clearance, direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment initiation or completion, and sustained virological response (SVR). Assessment of study quality was based on selected aspects of study design. Additional data were requested from study authors. Data were extracted in duplicate and meta-analysed using random effects models. PROSPERO registration CRD42022342806.

Findings: 9533 studies were identified and 92 studies were included. Compared to men, women were at greater risk for receptive needle and syringe sharing (past 6-12 months: risk ratio (RR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.23; <6 months: RR 1.38; 95% CI 1.09-1.76), less likely to be incarcerated (lifetime RR 0.64; 95% CI 0.57-0.73) more likely to be tested for HCV infection (lifetime RR 1.07; 95% CI 1.01, 1.14), more likely to spontaneously clear infection (RR1.58; 95% CI 1.40-1.79), less likely to initiate DAA treatment (0.84; 95% CI 0.78-0.90), and more likely to attain SVR after completing DAA treatment (RR 1.02; 95% CI 1.01-1.04).

Interpretation: There are important differences in HCV risk and cascade of care indicators among people who inject drugs that may impact the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programming. Developing and assessing the effectiveness of gender-specific and gender-responsive HCV interventions should be a priority in elimination programming.

Funding: Réseau SIDA-MI du Québec.