Assessment of factors influencing adherence to anti-retroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus positive mothers and their infected children

Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among HIV Patients in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in India, the third largest HIV epidemic in the world. We identified peer reviewed literature published between 2007 and 2017 to extract data on ART adherence. We estimated pooled prevalence of adherence to ART using a random-effects model. Thirty-two eligible studies (n = 11,543) were included in the meta-analysis. Studies were mostly clustered in the southern and western Indian states. Overall, 77% (95% Confidence Interval 73-82; I² = 96.80%) of patients had optimum adherence to ART. Women had higher prevalence of optimum adherence compared to men. Depression or anxiety were significant risk factors in seven of the fifteen studies reporting determinants of nonadherence. Studies should be performed to explore the reasons for gender gap in ART adherence and HIV program in India should prioritize mental health issues among HIV patients to improve ART adherence.

Mental Health and Antiretroviral Adherence Among Youth Living With HIV in Rwanda

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In Rwanda, significant progress has been made in advancing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among youth. As availability of ART increases, adherence is critical for preventing poor clinical outcomes and transmission of HIV. The goals of the study are to (1) describe ART adherence and mental health problems among youth living with HIV aged 10 to 17; and (2) examine the association between these factors among this population in rural Rwanda.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted that examined the association of mental health status and ART adherence among youth (n = 193). ART adherence, mental health status, and related variables were examined based on caregiver and youth report. Nonadherence was defined as ever missing or refusing a dose of ART within the past month. Multivariate modeling was performed to examine the association between mental health status and ART adherence.

RESULTS

Approximately 37% of youth missed or refused ART in the past month. In addition, a high level of depressive symptoms (26%) and attempt to hurt or kill oneself (12%) was observed in this population of youth living with HIV in Rwanda. In multivariate analysis, nonadherence was significantly associated with some mental health outcomes, including conduct problems (odds ratio 2.90, 95% confidence interval 1.55-5.43) and depression (odds ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.04), according to caregiver report. A marginally significant association was observed for youth report of depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that mental health should be considered among the factors related to ART nonadherence in HIV services for youth, particularly for mental health outcomes, such as conduct problems and depression.

Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Children Living with HIV in South India

Adherence to ART, fundamental to treatment success, has been poorly studied in India. Caregivers of children attending HIV clinics in southern India were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Adherence was assessed using a visual analogue scale representing past-month adherence and treatment interruptions >48 h during the past 3 months. Clinical features, correlates of adherence and HIV-1 viral-load were documented. Based on caregiver reports, 90.9 % of the children were optimally adherent. In multivariable analysis, experiencing ART-related adverse effects was significantly associated with suboptimal adherence (p = 0.01). The proportion of children who experienced virological failure was 16.5 %. Virological failure was not linked to suboptimal adherence. Factors influencing virological failure included running out of medications (p = 0.002) and the child refusing to take medications (p = 0.01). Inclusion of drugs with better safety profiles and improved access to care could further enhance outcomes.

Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in Hyderabad, India: barriers, facilitators and identification of target groups

We assessed the barriers and facilitators to highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence and determined their prevalence among HIV/AIDS patients in Hyderabad, India. We conducted a cross-sectional study among HIV-infected adults prescribed highly active antiretroviral therapy and receiving care from nine clinics. Depression was screened using Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and facilitators of HIV medication adherence were assessed using an 11-item scale which yielded a total positive attitude to disease score. Prevalence ratios of non-adherence between different categories of potential risk factors were calculated. We compared mean 'facilitators to adherence' scores between the adherent and non-adherent population. Multivariable Poisson regression with robust variance was used to identify independent risk factors. Among the 211 respondents, nearly 20% were non-adherent, approximately 8% had either moderately severe or severe depression and mean score for combined facilitators to medication adherence was 33.35 (±7.88) out of a possible 44 points. Factors significantly associated with non-adherence included older age, female sex worker, moderate-to-severe depression and the combined facilitators to medication adherence score. These data from a broad range of clinical settings in Hyderabad reveal that key groups to focus on for adherence intervention are female sex workers, older persons and those with depression.

Depression and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in low-, middle- and high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We investigated the associations between depressive symptoms and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL databases for studies that reported an association between depression and adherence to ART as a primary or secondary outcome. We used a random-effect model to pool the risk estimates from the individual studies. The odds ratio (OR) with their 95 % CIs were used as summary estimates. Of 2861 citations, 111 studies that recruited 42,366 PLHIV met our inclusion criteria. When reported, the rate of PLHIV with depressive symptoms ranged from 12.8 to 78 % and the proportion of PLHIV who achieved good adherence (≥ 80 %) ranged from 20 to 98 %. There were no significant differences in rate of depressive symptoms in PLHIV by country income group; however, the proportion of PLHIV who achieved good adherence was significantly higher in lower-income countries (as defined in the 2012 World Bank Country Income Groups) (pooled rate=86 %) compared to higher-income countries (pooled rate=67.5 %; p< .05). We found that the likelihood of achieving good ART adherence was 42 % lower among those with depressive symptoms compared to those without (pooled OR=0.58, 95 % CI 0.55 to 0.62). The relationship between depressive symptoms and adherence to ART was consistent across the country's income group, study design and adherence rates. We found that the magnitude of the association significantly decreases with more recent publications and increasing study sample size. The higher the prevalence of depressive symptoms of PLHIV recruited in the studies, the lower the likelihood of achieving good adherence to ART. In conclusion, the likelihood of achieving good adherence was lower among those with depressive symptoms compared to those without.

Cognitive functioning, depression, and HIV medication adherence in India: a randomized pilot trial

Objective: India is home to the third-largest number of people living with HIV in the world, and no-cost antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been available across the country since 2004. However, rates of adherence to ART are often subpar in India, and interventions to increase adherence are warranted. Cognitive impairment and depression have been associated with ART non-adherence, and may also limit the impact of behavioral interventions designed to improve adherence. Studies have not evaluated the impact of cognitive impairment and depression on response to adherence interventions in India. Methods: Individuals new to ART (≤12 months prescribed) were recruited from a public hospital in Chandigarh, India. Participants (N = 80) were randomized to either a group medication adherence intervention (MAI) or an enhanced standard of care (ESOC) condition. The MAI consisted of three monthly gender-concordant group cognitive-behavioral sessions addressing HIV and ART, adherence, and HIV-related coping and social support. Participants were assessed at baseline for depression and cognitive functioning, and assessed monthly for adherence by pill count. Results: Adherence among participants receiving the MAI improved by about one day's dose over the course of the study, and no improvement was noted among those in the ESOC. Additionally, high rates of cognitive impairment (57%) and depression (25%) were identified among participants. There was no evidence that cognitive impairment moderated response to the intervention. However, while non-depressed participants benefitted from the intervention, depressed participants failed to show the same improvement. Conclusions: Results of this pilot study suggest that group behavioral interventions can be an effective strategy to promote ART adherence in this population, even among those demonstrating cognitive impairment. However, because of the negative impact of depression on adherence, future studies should continue to develop strategies to identify and treat it among people living with HIV in India.