Discontinuation and reinitiation patterns of osteoporosis treatment among commercially insured postmenopausal women.

Objective: Poor adherence to chronic medications is common and compromises medication effectiveness. We sought to describe longitudinal patterns of osteoporosis medication use.

Study Design: This was a retrospective observational cohort study using 2005-2009 data from a large, commercially insured population.

Demographic and behavioral contextual risk groups among men who have sex with men participating in a phase 3 HIV vaccine efficacy trial: implications for HIV prevention and behavioral/biomedical intervention trials.

Recent outbreaks of syphilis and gonorrhea coupled with reported increases in HIV-risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) have raised concerns about a potential resurgence of HIV among MSM. These concerns have led some to suggest the need for a paradigm shift in how HIV-prevention programs are designed and implemented. In this analysis, baseline demographic, sexual partnership, and substance use information was used to identify contextual-risk groups among 5,095 HIV-seronegative MSM enrolled in a 36-month phase 3 HIV vaccine efficacy trial across 61 sites primarily in North America.

Motivations for participating in an HIV vaccine efficacy trial.

Understanding why people join HIV vaccine efficacy trials is critical for trial recruitment and education efforts. We assessed participants' motivations for joining the VaxGen VAX004 study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 multicenter trial. Of 5417 participants, 94% were men who have sex with men (MSM) and 6% were women at risk for heterosexual transmission of HIV.

HIV sexual risk behavior over 36 months of follow-up in the world's first HIV vaccine efficacy trial.

Increased risk behavior among participants in HIV vaccine efficacy trials has been a concern. This study evaluated HIV sexual risk behavior among 5095 HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) and 308 women enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trial of a bivalent rgp120 vaccine at 61 sites, primarily in North America. Sexual risk behavior data were collected at baseline and semiannually for 36 months.