Evaluation of Adherence and Factors Affecting Adherence to Combination Antiretroviral Therapy Among White, Hispanic, and Black Men in the MACS Cohort

• Published in: Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 290 - 293
• Main Authors: Oh, Debora Lee, Sarafian, Farjad, Silvestre, Anthony, Brown, Todd, Jacobson, Lisa, Badri, Sheila, Detels, Roger
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 01-10-2009; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active - methods; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American; Black People; Cohort Studies; Data collection; Drug dosages; Drug therapy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hispanic or Latino; HIV Infections - drug therapy; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Medication Adherence - statistics & numerical data; Microbiology; Minority & ethnic groups; Miscellaneous; Risk Factors; United States; Viral diseases; Virology; White People; United States; Human; Drug combination; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Microbiology; ethnicity; adherence; antiretroviral therapy; Antiviral; Combined treatment; Adhesion
• ISSN: 1525-4135; 1944-7884; 1944-7884
• DOI: 10.1097/QAI.0b013e3181ab6d48

OBJECTIVES:This study investigated levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy in white, Hispanic, and black men and isolated factors associated with adherence among each racial group.
METHODS:Data were collected from 1102 men enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study followed between April 2002 and October 2006. Self-reported 100% adherence was defined as taking all doses and pills over the previous 4-day period, reporting not typically skipping any medications, and reporting always following the medication schedule. Variables associated with adherence were determined by multilevel logistic regression for each racial group. Adherence was also analyzed by ethnicity within racial groups.
RESULTS:After controlling for confounders, we found that Hispanics were 2.16 times and blacks were 1.37 times more likely than whites to not report 100% adherence (95% confidence interval 1.47 to 3.18 and 1.05 to 1.79, respectively). Hispanics with ethnic backgrounds from Central and South America and the Caribbean had lower rates of adherence. Blacks with ethnic backgrounds from the Caribbean had lower rates of adherence than those from other regions.