Impact of Abstinence and of Reducing Illicit Drug Use Without Abstinence on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viral Load.

Background: Substance use is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) and a barrier to achieving viral suppression. Among PLWH who report illicit drug use, we evaluated associations between HIV viral load (VL) and reduced use of illicit opioids, methamphetamine/crystal, cocaine/crack, and marijuana, regardless of whether or not abstinence was achieved.

Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort study of PLWH from 7 HIV clinics or 4 clinical studies.