Syndemic conditions and medication adherence in older men living with HIV who have sex with men

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of older MSM living with HIV.

Demographics	≤ 1 Syndemic condition n = 180	≥ 2 Syndemic conditions n = 101	Total MSM n = 281	p-value
Age (mean, SD)	58.57 (±6.587)	56.68 (±5.006)	57.89 (±6.124)	.013
Range	50–80	50–73	50–80
Race/ethnicity				.200
Caucasian	101 (56.1%)	53 (52.5%)	154 (54.8%)
African American	31 (17.2%)	21 (20.8%)	52 (18.5%)
Hispanic	12 (6.7%)	13 (12.9%)	25 (8.9%)
Sexual orientation				.461
Gay	162 (90.0%)	88 (87.1%)	250 (89.0%)
Bisexual	18 (10.0%)	23 (12.9%)	31 (11.0%)
Years of HIV-infection				.562
Total Years (mean, SD)	20.85 (±7.942)	20.24 (±8.392)	20.64 (±8.094)
Range	1–35	1–33	1–35
Education				.216
≥ College	153 (85.0%)	80 (79.2%)	233 (82.9%)
Employment				.008
Full-/part-time	53 (29.4%)	21 (20.8%)	74 (26.3%)
Unemployed	16 (8.9%)	8 (7.9%)	24 (8.5%)
Retired	45 (25.0%)	12 (11.9%)	57 (20.3%)
Receiving disability	60 (33.3%)	57 (56.4%)	117 (41.6%)
HRQoL				0.004
Excellent	17 (9.4%)	6 (5.9%)	23 (8.2%)
Very good	57 (31.7%)	24 (23.8%)	81 (28.8%)
Good	71 (39.4%)	29 (28.7%)	100 (35.6%)
Fair	30 (16.7%)	32 (31.7%)	62 (22.1%)
Poor	4 (2.2%)	9 (8.9%)	13 (4.6%)
HIV VL				.564
Undetectable (<40 copies/ml)	151 (83.9%)	82 (81.2%)	233 (82.9%)
Medication Adherence (SRSI)				<.0001
Very poor	4 (2.2%)	2 (2.0%)	6 (2.1%)
Poor	0 (0.0%)	7 (6.9%)	7 (2.5%)
Fair	2 (1.1%)	8 (7.9%)	10 (3.6%)
Good	9 (5.0%)	13 (12.9%)	22 (7.8%)
Very good	34 (18.9%)	27 (26.7%)	61 (21.7%)
Excellent	131 (72.8%)	44 (43.6%)	175 (62.3%)
Syndemic conditions
Symptoms of depression	N/A	N/A	77 (27.4%)	N/A
Symptoms of PTSD	N/A	N/A	38 (13.5%)	N/A
Past physical or sexual abuse	N/A	N/A	98 (34.9%)	N/A
IPV	N/A	N/A	14 (5.0%)	N/A
Stimulant use	N/A	N/A	45 (16.0%)	N/A
Binge drinking	N/A	N/A	84 (29.9%)	N/A

Notes: Significance <.05 are in boldface. HIV VL = Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viral Load; HRQoL = Health-Related Quality of Life; IPV = Intimate Partner Violence; MSM = Men who have sex with men; N/A = Not Applicable; PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; SD = Standard Deviation; SRSI = Self-Rating Scale Item.

Table 2. Association between syndemic conditions – symptoms of depression, symptoms of PTSD, past physical or sexual abuse, IPV, stimulant use, binge drinking and outcome variable: medication adherence.

Syndemic conditions	Medication adherence change: increase +; decrease −	p-value	Medication adherence change: increase +; decrease −	Unique contribution	p-value
	Unadjusted Regression		Adjusted Regression
Symptoms of depression	−.574	<.0001	−.391	22.4%	.008
Symptoms of PTSD	−.849	<.0001	−.616	25.4%	.002
Past physical or sexual abuse	−.371	.009	−.257	15.4%	.060
IPV	−.254	.420	−.240	4.8%	.421
Stimulant use	−.849	.0001	−.739	27.2%	<.0001
Binge drinking	−.362	.015	−.240	14.5%	.085

Notes: All measurements controlling for the other variables within this model. Significance <.05 are in boldface. IPV = Intimate Partner Violence; PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.