Status disclosure patterns related to HIV care retention, viral load

Healio
Original Article:  bit.ly/1EvB5t9

SEATTLE — Identifying patient disclosure patterns may help predict retention in care and viral load suppression, according to data presented at CROI 2015.

“Knowledge that life expectancy and prevention of transmission to others is associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy suggests that better understanding of barriers to retention in care and effective viral load suppression is a priority,” the researchers wrote in the abstract. “For newly diagnosed persons, the decision of whether and whom to disclose to is complex, with benefits weighed against perceived risks.”

Latesha E. Elopre, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues examined the relationship between status disclosure, care retention and viral suppression in 508 patients with HIV from 2007-2013. Participants were aged 19 years or older and had never received HIV care. Sixty-one percent were black and 82% were men, of which 60% were men who have sex with men. Poor retention was defined as a gap in care greater than 180 days, and viral load suppression as a viral load less than 200 copies/mL as measured 12 months after initiating HIV care. Primary univariate and multivariable analyses compared patients who did or did not disclose their HIV status. Secondary analysis examined patients who either did not disclose or disclosed only to a single party versus those who shared their status with two or more parties.

Full text of article available at link below:  bit.ly/1EvB5t9