Burden and correlates of mental health diagnoses among sex workers in an urban setting

BMC Women's Health

Table 2 Bivariate and multivariable analyses of factors correlated with mental health diagnoses among sex workers in Vancouver, Canada, 2010–2013 (n=692)

Characteristic	Unadjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI)	p-value	Adjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI)	p-value
Individual Biological and Behavioural Factors
Indigenous ancestry	2.11 (1.54 – 2.89)	<0.001
Sexual/gender minority^a	3.79 (2.61 – 5.51)	<0.001	2.56 (1.72 – 3.81)	<0.001
High school attainment or greater	0.61 (0.45 – 0.82)	0.001
Non-injection drug use^b	4.86 (3.37 – 7.01)	<0.001	1.85 (1.12 – 3.08)	0.017
Injection drug use^b	2.52 (1.84 – 3.45)	<0.001
Partner/Interpersonal Risks
Inconsistent condom use^b	2.84 (1.87 – 4.30)	<0.001
Having sex while high^b	3.51 (2.54 – 4.86)	<0.001
Exchanging sex for drugs^b	2.21 (1.58 – 3.09)	<0.001
Physical/sexual violence by intimate partner^b	1.89 (1.30 – 2.74)	0.001
Physical/sexual violence by client^b	2.70 (1.87 – 3.92)	<0.001
Structural Determinants
Recent homelessness^b	1.93 (1.39 – 2.68)	<0.001
Childhood trauma^v	5.20 (3.56 – 7.61)	<0.001	2.90 (1.89 – 4.45)	<0.001
Police harassment^b	1.78 (1.31 – 2.42)	<0.001
Primary place of service^b
Formal indoor establishment/brothel (Reference)
Informal indoor establishment	5.36 (3.44 – 8.34)	<0.001	1.94 (1.11 – 3.40)	0.021
Outdoor/public space	4.70 (3.16 – 6.97)	<0.001	1.76 (1.03 – 2.99)	0.038

^aDefined as ‘yes’ to any of ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’, ‘bisexual’, ‘transgender’, ‘transsexual’, ‘two-spirited’, ‘other’
^bIn the last six months
^cPhysical or sexual assault before age 18
MH – mental health; p-value reported for bivariate correlation between MH yes and variable, p<0.05 for inclusion in multivariate model

ISSN: 1472-6874