Predictive factors of ART adherence in people living with HIV in Guangxi, China: a retrospective cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a prerequisite to improve immunity and reduce the morbidity and mortality of people living with HIV (PLWH). To describe ART adherence and associated factors among PLWH, patients who initiated ART in Liuzhou between 1998 and 2013 were recruited. Socio-demographic characteristics, HIV infection-related characteristics and clinical tests were analyzed. Both descriptive and multi-level analyses were used to explore factors related to ART adherence of PLWH who initiated ART in Liuzhou. A total of 8433 patients were recruited in this study. The rate of adherence to ART was 84.9% in PLWH who initiated ART in Liuzhou between 1998 and 2013. The female sex, WHO clinical stage III or IV before ART initiation, longer treatment duration and higher triglyceride were positively associated with ART adherence. Meanwhile, HIV acquired by intravenous drug use, co-infection with tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections were negatively associated with ART adherence. Measures should be adopted to improve the ART adherence of PLWH who are male, acquired HIV by intravenous drug use, and are co-infected with tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections.

KEYWORDS:

• ART
• adherence
• HIV
• AIDS
• PLWH

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge support from all participants. The authors also acknowledge supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81760602 and 81803295), the National Science and Technology Major Project of China During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2018ZX10302104), Liuzhou Science and Technology Development Project (2017BH20304), the Research Basic Ability Enhancement Project of Young and Middle-aged Teachers in Guangxi Universities in 2021 (2021KY0081) and Open Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of AIDS Research (gklapt201904).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 81760602, 81803295]; National Science and Technology Major Project of China: [Grant Number 2018ZX10302104]; Open Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of AIDS Research: [Grant Number gklapt201904]; Liuzhou Science and Technology Development Project: [Grant Number 2017BH20304]; Research Basic Ability Enhancement Project of Young and Middle-aged Teachers in Guangxi Universities in 2021: [Grant Number 2021KY0081].