Implementation and Operational Research: Effect of Universal Access to Antiretroviral Therapy on HIV/AIDS Mortality in Mexico 1990-2011

Physical activity, anxiety, depression, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in people with HIV

BACKGROUND

Physical activity (PA) levels, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, can affect adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) impacting people's health. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PA levels, clinical symptoms of anxiety and depression, and adherence to ART in people living with HIV (PLHIV).

METHOD

A cross-sectional study including 125 PLHIV was conducted. Adherence to ART was assessed using the Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ). For anxiety and depression, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was applied. The level of PA was assessed using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). SPSS version 22.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULT

The prevalence of clinical levels of anxiety and depression symptoms was 53.6% and 37.6 %, respectively. Fifty-three percent presented clinical levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. Sixty-one people (48.8%) had vigorous physical activity levels, 36 people (28.8%) had moderate PA levels and 28 people (22.4%) had low PA levels. According to the SMAQ, 34.5% of the patients were adherent to ART.

CONCLUSION

People who performed low PA levels had more risk to develop clinical levels of depression symptoms. Clinical level of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress (PD) symptoms was found to increase the risk of non-adherence to ART.

Analysis of the trend of mortality from HIV/AIDS according to sociodemographic characteristics in Brazil, 2000 to 2018

This investigation analyzed the trend of HIV/AIDS mortality by sociodemographic characteristics in the Brazilian states from 2000 to 2018. This is an ecological study of time-series of standardized rates of mortality from AIDS overall, by gender, age group, marital status, and ethnicity/skin color, employing the Prais-Winsten generalized linear model. The results showed that the states with the highest rates were Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina. The trend was increasing in the North and Northeast. Men had higher rates than women and the general population. The most advanced age groups showed a growing trend. The analysis by marital status showed higher and growing rates among the unmarried. Blacks had higher rates, except for Paraná, with a mainly increasing trend. Mortality due to HIV/AIDS had different trends by sociodemographic characteristics, with a need for preventive and care actions for men, adults, older adults, unmarried, and black people due to the change in the mortality profile.

Patient characteristics and determinants of CD4 at diagnosis of HIV in Mexico from 2008 to 2017: a 10-year population-based study

BACKGROUND

In 2007-2012 the Mexican government launched the National HIV program and there was a major change in HIV policies implemented in 2013-2018, when efforts focused on prevention, increase in early diagnosis and timely treatment. Still, late HIV diagnosis is a major concern in Mexico due to its association with the development of AIDS development and mortality. Thus, the objectives of this study were to identify the determinants of late HIV diagnosis (i.e. CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3) in Mexico from 2008 to 2017 and to evaluate the impact of the 2013-2017 National HIV program.

METHODS

Using patient level data from the SALVAR database, which includes 64% of the population receiving HIV care in Mexico, an adjusted logistic model was conducted. Main study outcomes were HIV late diagnosis which was defined as CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3 at diagnosis.

RESULTS

The study included 106,830 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV and treated in Mexican public health facilities between 2008 and 2017 (mean age: 33 years old, 80% male). HIV late diagnosis decreased from 45 to 43% (P < 0.001) between 2008 and 2012 and 2013-2017 (i.e. before and after the implementation of the 2013-2017 policy). Multivariable logistic regressions indicated that being diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.96 [95% Confidence interval [CI] [0.93, 0.98]) or in health facilities specialized in HIV care (OR = 0.64 [95% CI 0.60, 0.69]) was associated with early diagnosis. Being male, older than 29 years old, diagnosed in Central East, the South region of Mexico or in high-marginalized locality increased the odds of a late diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that the 2013-2017 National HIV program in Mexico has been marginally successful in decreasing the proportion of individuals with late HIV diagnosis in Mexico. We identified several predictors of late diagnosis which could help establishing health policies. The main determinants for late diagnosis were being male, older than 29 years old, and being diagnosed in a Hospital or National Institute.

Trends in Mortality due to HIV/AIDS in children in Mexico: Towards the elimination of mother-tochild transmission

AIM OF THE STUDY

To examine mortality trends in children under 15 years of age due to HIV/AIDS in Mexico and describe their differences by insurance coverage.

METHODS

Time series analysis of deaths from 1990-2019 through a Bayesian poisson regression model with linear splines and knots in 1994, 1997, and 2003.

RESULTS

Overall, we observed a reduction in the mortality rate due to HIV from 2003 onwards, except in the group of 10-14 years. In the population covered with Social Security, mortality rates decreased in all age groups. However, in the group without Social Security or with Popular Security (subsidized system), mortality rates significantly decreased only for children below 5 years. of age.

CONCLUSIONS

Health insurance through the contributory system is associated with faster and larger reductions in HIV related infant mortality. Universal access to health insurance was not sufficient to close the gap in HIV-mortality among children under 15 years of age in Mexico.

Life expectancy of HIV-infected patients followed at the largest hospital in Guinea-Bissau is one-fourth of life expectancy of the background population

PURPOSE

To estimate the life expectancy (LE) of HIV-infected patients in the West African country Guinea-Bissau and compare it with the background population.

METHODS

Using data from the largest HIV outpatient clinic at the Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes in the capital Bissau, a retrospective observational cohort study was performed. The study included patients attending the clinic between June 2005 and January 2018. A total of 8958 HIV-infected patients were included. In the analysis of the background population, a total of 109,191 people were included. LE incorporating loss to follow-up (LTFU) was estimated via Kaplan-Meier estimators using observational data on adult HIV-infected patients and background population.

RESULTS

The LE of 20-year-old HIV-infected patients was 9.8 years (95% CI 8.3-11.5), corresponding to 22.3% (95% CI 18.5-26.7%) of the LE of the background population. (LE for 20-year-olds in the background population was 44.0 years [95% CI 43.0-44.9].) Patients diagnosed with CD4 cell counts below 200 cells/µL had a LE of 5.7 years (95% CI 3.6-8.2). No increase in LE with later calendar period of diagnosis was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

LE was shown to be markedly lower among HIV-infected patients compared with the background population. While other settings have shown marked improvements in prognosis of HIV-infected patients in recent years, no improvement in Bissau was observed over time (9.8 years (95% CI 7.6-12.2) and 9.9 years (95% CI 7.6-12.1) for the periods 2005-2010 and 2014-2016, respectively).

The Population Impact of Late Presentation With Advanced HIV Disease and Delayed Antiretroviral Therapy in Adults Receiving HIV Care in Latin America

Late presentation to care and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease are common in Latin America. We estimated the impact of these conditions on mortality in the region. We included adults enrolled during 2001-2014 at HIV care clinics. We estimated the adjusted attributable risk (AR) and population attributable fraction (PAF) for all-cause mortality of presentation to care with advanced HIV disease (advanced LP), ART initiation with advanced HIV disease, and not initiating ART. Advanced HIV disease was defined as CD4 of <200 cells/μL or acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AR and PAF were derived using marginal structural models. Of 9,229 patients, 56% presented with advanced HIV disease. ARs of death for advanced LP were 86%, 71%, and 58%, and PAFs were 78%, 58%, and 43% at 1, 5, and 10 years after enrollment. Among people without advanced LP, ARs of death for delaying ART were 39%, 32%, and 37% at 1, 5, and 10 years post-enrollment and PAFs were 20%, 14%, and 15%. Among people with advanced LP, ART decreased the hazard of death by 63% in the first year after enrollment, but 93% of these started ART; thus universal ART among them would reduce mortality by only 10%. Earlier presentation to care and earlier ART initiation would prevent most HIV deaths in Latin America.

HIV treatment in Guinea-Bissau: room for improvement and time for new treatment options

Despite advances in the treatment quality of HIV throughout the world, several countries are still facing numerous obstacles in delivering HIV treatment at a sufficiently high quality, putting patients' lives in jeopardy. The aim of this status article is to give an overview of HIV treatment outcomes in the West African country, Guinea-Bissau, and to assess how newer treatment strategies such as long-acting injectable drugs or an HIV cure may limit or stop the HIV epidemic in this politically unstable and low-resource setting. Several HIV cohorts in Guinea-Bissau have been established and are used as platforms for epidemiological, virological, immunological and clinical studies often with a special focus on HIV-2, which is prevalent in the country. The Bandim Health Project, a demographic surveillance site, has performed epidemiological HIV surveys since 1987 among an urban population in the capital Bissau. The Police cohort, an occupational cohort of police officers, has enabled analyses of persons seroconverting with estimated times of seroconversion among HIV-1 and HIV-2-infected individuals, allowing incidence measurements while the Bissau HIV Cohort and a newer Nationwide HIV Cohort have provided clinical data on large numbers of HIV-infected patients. The HIV cohorts in Guinea-Bissau are unique platforms for research and represent real life in many African countries. Poor adherence, lack of HIV viral load measurements, inadequate laboratory facilities, high rates of loss to follow-up, mortality, treatment failure and resistance development, are just some of the challenges faced putting the goal of "90-90-90″ for Guinea-Bissau well out of reach by 2020. Maintaining undetectable viral loads on treatment as a prerequisite of a cure strategy seems not possible at the moment. Thinking beyond one-pill-once-a-day, long-acting antiretroviral treatment options such as injectable drugs or implants may be a better treatment option in settings like Guinea-Bissau and may even pave the way for an HIV cure. If the delivery of antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa in a sustainable way for the future should be improved by focusing on existing treatment options or through focusing on new treatment options remains to be determined.

Factors associated with program effectiveness in the implementation of a sexual risk reduction intervention for female sex workers across Mexico: Results from a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

The overall aim of this paper is to examine effectiveness of an evidence-based intervention in community settings, and the factors associated with effectiveness. Limited research in the area of HIV prevention has focused on evaluating intervention program effectiveness in real-world settings.

METHODS

We implemented an efficacious theory-based sexual risk reduction intervention for female sex workers (FSW) called Mujer Segura across 13 different clinics in 13 sites across Mexico. The overall design was a cluster randomized Type I design simultaneously testing intervention program effectiveness with an observational study of implementation factors. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of Mujer Segura at reducing HIV/STI incidence among FSW participants at each site, and to examine the client-, provider-, organization-, and structure-related factors associated with program effectiveness.

RESULTS

We found lower HIV/STI incidence density in the intervention relative to the control group in 5 sites we labeled as "program effective sites," but not in 8 sites we labeled as "program ineffective sites." Using generalized estimating equations controlling for site and computed mean difference effect sizes, we examined statistically and practically significant differences, respectively, between the two groups of sites along various client-, provider-, organization-, and structure-related characteristics. Results indicated that client-level HIV/AIDS related knowledge, and proficiency and engagement in the organizational social context were associated with program effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Enormous resources are required to systematically and adequately test the role of multilevel factors on program effectiveness. We successfully implemented Mujer Segura in 13 sites in Mexico. Results suggest that other measures may need to be included in future implementation studies than the ones included here. We were able to point to a few specific factors that should be targeted to increase effectiveness of similar evidence-based programs in low- and other middle-income countries like Mexico.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01465607.

Evaluación del Sistema de Administración, Logística y Vigilancia de Antirretrovirales (SALVAR) en el estado de Morelos, México

[No disponible]

Prevalence of Drug Resistance Mutations in Protease, Reverse Transcriptase, and Integrase Genes of North Central Mexico HIV Isolates

This study set out to determine the frequency of antiretroviral drug resistance mutations in treatment-naive subjects of the north central Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. Mexican studies of antiretroviral drug resistance mutations have focused mainly on large metropolitan areas and border towns subjected to intense international migrations. This study set forth to describe the frequency of these mutations in a Mexican region less subjected to such migratory influences and more representative of smaller Mexican cities. Thirty-eight full-length pol sequences spanning the protease, reverse-transcriptase, and integrase-encoding regions were obtained from 42 treatment-naive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects. Most exhibited subtype B homology, but CRF02_AG was also detected. Evidence of APOBEC3 hypermutation was seen in two samples. Calibrated population analysis revealed a surveillance drug resistance mutation prevalence of 4.9% for protease inhibitors, of 2.7% for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, of 8.1% for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and an overall prevalence of 9.5%. This corresponds to an intermediate level of transmitted drug resistance according to the World Health Organization. The identification of integrase mutations suggests that transmitted drug mutations are being imported, as inhibitors targeting integrase have not been widely used in Mexico. Our results provide a greater understanding of HIV diversity in Mexico and highlight the way internal migrations allow HIV mutations and genetic features to permeate regions less subjected to international migrations. The implications of these findings will become more evident as Mexico hosts increased repatriations of migrants in the coming years.

The Decline in HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Heavily Antiretroviral-Experienced Patients Is Associated with Optimized Prescriptions in a Treatment Roll-Out Program in Mexico

A decrease in the rate of acquired antiretroviral (ARV) drug resistance (ADR) over time has been documented in high-income settings, but data on the determinants of this phenomenon are lacking. We tested the hypothesis that in heavily ARV-experienced patients in the Mexican ARV therapy (ART) roll-out program, the drop in ADR would be associated with changes in ARV drug usage. Genotypic resistance tests obtained from 974 HIV-infected patients with virological failure and at least 2 previously failed ARV regimens from throughout the country were analyzed for the presence of nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitor (PI) resistance-associated mutations (RAMs). Patients were divided into two groups according to their first ART start date: 488 patients initiated ART before mid-2003 (group 1) and 486 after mid-2003 (group 2). The rate of RAMs, median resistance score of several sentinel ARVs, and composition of ART drugs in patient's entire treatment history were compared between both groups. Patients in group 2 were less likely to have >3 thymidine analogue-associated mutations (TAMs) and >3 PI-mRAMs [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.37; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.25-0.54; p < .001 and aOR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.36-0.77; p = .001, respectively] and had a significantly lower resistance score for zidovudine, tenofovir, ritonavir-boosted (r)-lopinavir, r-atazanavir, and r-darunavir than group 1 patients. A significantly lower proportion of patients in group 2 used monotherapy, bitherapy, thymidine analogue-containing regimens, nonboosted PI-containing regimens, and low resistance barrier PI-containing regimens. In Mexican ARV-experienced patients, the occurrence of TAM and PI-mRAM has significantly declined over time. This can be explained by treatment optimization in the national ART roll-out program in recent years.

Cost-Effectiveness of Combined Sexual and Injection Risk Reduction Interventions among Female Sex Workers Who Inject Drugs in Two Very Distinct Mexican Border Cities

Background

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of combined single session brief behavioral intervention, either didactic or interactive (Mujer Mas Segura, MMS) to promote safer-sex and safer-injection practices among female sex workers who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) in Tijuana (TJ) and Ciudad-Juarez (CJ) Mexico. Data for this analysis was obtained from a factorial RCT in 2008–2010 coinciding with expansion of needle exchange programs (NEP) in TJ, but not in CJ.

Methods

A Markov model was developed to estimate the incremental cost per quality adjusted life year gained (QALY) over a lifetime time frame among a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 FSW-IDUs comparing a less intensive didactic vs. a more intensive interactive format of the MMS, separately for safer sex and safer injection combined behavioral interventions. The costs for antiretroviral therapy was not included in the model. We applied a societal perspective, a discount rate of 3% per year and currency adjusted to US$2014. A multivariate sensitivity analysis was performed. The combined and individual components of the MMS interactive behavioral intervention were compared with the didactic formats by calculating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER), defined as incremental unit of cost per additional health benefit (e.g., HIV/STI cases averted, QALYs) compared to the next least costly strategy. Following guidelines from the World Health Organization, a combined strategy was considered highly cost-effective if the incremental cost per QALY gained fell below the gross domestic product per capita (GDP) in Mexico (equivalent to US$10,300).

Findings

For CJ, the mixed intervention approach of interactive safer sex/didactic safer injection had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of US$4,360 ($310–$7,200) per QALY gained compared with a dually didactic strategy. Using the dually interactive strategy had an ICER of US$5,874 ($310–$7,200) compared with the mixed approach. For TJ, the combination of interactive safer sex/didactic safer injection had an ICER of US$5,921 ($104–$9,500) per QALY compared with dually didactic. Strategies using the interactive safe injection intervention were dominated due to lack of efficacy advantage. The multivariate sensitivity analysis showed a 95% certainty that in both CJ and TJ the ICER for the mixed approach (interactive safer sex didactic safer injection intervention) was less than the GDP per capita for Mexico. The dual interactive approach met this threshold consistently in CJ, but not in TJ.

Interpretation

In the absence of an expanded NEP in CJ, the combined-interactive formats of the MMS behavioral intervention is highly cost-effective. In contrast, in TJ where NEP expansion suggests that improved access to sterile syringes significantly reduced injection-related risks, the interactive safer-sex combined didactic safer-injection was highly cost-effective compared with the combined didactic versions of the safer-sex and safer-injection formats of the MMS, with no added benefit from the interactive safer-injection component.