aidsmap
Michael Carter
Original Article: bit.ly/19fOQQ6
Good mental health was the only significant factor associated with optimal pill-taking among people taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV, investigators from the HPTN 052 study report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
High levels of adherence were observed after one month and one year of follow-up, and – unsurprisingly – people who took 95% of more of their ART doses were more likely to achieve virological suppression.
“The results of this analysis demonstrate a very high degree of adherence to ART, which correlates well with the durable suppression of viremia observed,” comment the authors. “Assessing and intervening on mental health in the context of promoting adherence to ART as prevention should be explored.”
HIV treatment that suppresses viral load is associated with a massive reduction in the risk of transmission to sexual partners. Important information about the effectiveness of virologically suppressive ART on transmission risk came from the HTPN 052 study. This recruited 1763 HIV serodiscordant couples in nine countries. The partners with HIV were randomised to take early (CD4 count 350-550 cells/mm3) or delayed ART. Results showed that early ART reduced the risk of HIV transmission by 96%.
The study investigators wanted to see if factors such as mental health and general wellbeing, substance abuse, binge drinking, social support, sexual behaviour and demographic characteristics such as age, were associated with optimum adherence (taking at least 95% of doses) among the 886 people with HIV randomised to receive early therapy.
Study participants were provided with regular adherence and safer sex counselling. Adherence was assessed using pill count and patient self-report at each study visit. Participants were also asked about their levels of social support and possible reasons for missing doses of their medication. The median duration of follow-up was a little over two years.
Full text of article available at link below: bit.ly/19fOQQ6
