Open AccessFactors Associated with HIV Antiretroviral Therapy among Men Who Have Sex with Men in 20 US Cities, 2014
Author(s) -
Roger B. Stein,
Songli Xu,
W. Jon Williams,
Mariette Marano,
Adanze Eke,
Teresa Finlayson,
Gabriela Paz–Bailey,
Cyprian Wejnert
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of urban health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.211
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-2869
pISSN - 1099-3460
DOI - 10.1007/s11524-019-00386-w
Subject(s) - men who have sex with men , socioeconomic status , psychological intervention , demography , medicine , ethnic group , logistic regression , antiretroviral therapy , confidence interval , gerontology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , environmental health , viral load , family medicine , population , psychiatry , political science , syphilis , sociology , law
Reducing HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) is a national goal, and early diagnosis, timely linkage to HIV medical care, and ongoing care and treatment are critical for improving health outcomes for MSM with HIV and preventing transmission to others. We assessed demographic, social, and economic factors associated with HIV antiretroviral treatment among HIV-infected MSM. Data are from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) collected in 2014 among MSM. We estimated prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals using average marginal predictions from logistic regression. Overall, 89% of HIV-positive MSM reported currently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). After controlling for other variables, we found that higher perceived community stigma and not having health insurance were significant risk factors for not taking ART. We also found that high socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with taking ART. Race/ethnicity was not significantly associated with taking ART in either the unadjusted or adjusted analyses. Findings suggest that to increase ART use for MSM with HIV, we need to move beyond individual-level approaches and move towards the development, dissemination, and evaluation of structural and policy interventions that respond to these important social and economic factors.