Other predictors of mortality
depression, death
We assessed the effects of recent injecting and non-injecting substance use on the risk of death. Among indexes, mortality was lower among participants self-reporting hazardous alcohol use or any type of injecting drug use in the past 3 months, and higher among those reporting no injecting or non-injecting drug use. One possible explanation may be that the intensity of drug use among HIV-positive PWID may gradually decline before death due to deteriorating health and decreasing tolerance to substances. Among the HIV-negative partner participants, neither injecting nor non-injecting substance use was associated with mortality.In contrast to other studies, suggesting higher mortality among opioid users compared to stimulant users [Importantly, we have also found more than twice the risk of death in index participants with moderate or severe depression. The causal pathway of this association is described by multiple studies showing the negative impact of depression at each stage of HIV treatment continuum: care engagement [Despite the well-documented role of stigma in diminishing access to life-saving treatments for PWID [