The Infectious Disease Syndemics of Crack Cocaine

Compared to the users of other illicit drugs, mortality rates among crack cocaine users have been found to be conspicuously high. Several factors contribute to this pattern. This article argues that one of the primary factors involved in drug-related deaths among crack cocaine users is the role this drug plays in fostering infectious disease syndemics, including adverse interactions among HIV, TB, and various STIs. Notably, syndemic disease interactions like the kinds described in this manuscript are promoted by social conditions of marginalization, poverty, and living in stressful and often traumatic social conditions.