AI Article Synopsis
- The study explored how drug-related behaviors influenced the stopping of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among injection drug users (IDU) in Vancouver, Canada, from 1996 to 2008.
- Researchers analyzed data from 408 HIV-positive IDU, finding that 63% had discontinued ART at least once during the study.
- While continued injection of drugs like heroin or cocaine didn't significantly raise ART discontinuation rates, public drug use was a strong predictor of stopping ART, suggesting a need to rethink the impact of active drug use on ART retention.
Article Abstract
We investigated whether drug-related behaviors predicted antiretroviral therapy (ART) discontinuation among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in a Canadian setting. Cox regression analyses were used to investigate the impact of drug use patterns on rates of ART discontinuation among a sample of HIV-positive IDU in Vancouver, Canada between May 1996 and April 2008. In total, 408 HIV-positive IDU initiated ART during the study period, among whom 257 (63.0%) discontinued ART at least once. Rates of ART discontinuation were not significantly elevated among those who reported ongoing injection of heroin, cocaine, or other illicit drugs in comparison to those who reported not injecting drugs. However, public drug use was significantly predictive of ART discontinuation. Our findings may contribute to a reconsideration of the role of active drug use in determining retention in ART programs among IDU.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4931799 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0136-y | DOI Listing |
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