Partnership status and time to viral suppression and sustained viral suppression among newly diagnosed heterosexual people with HIV.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies examining the role of partnership on HIV care outcomes have primarily focused on the men who have sex with men population in the United States, leaving a gap in the literature on this phenomenon among the heterosexual persons with HIV (PWH). This study examined association between partnership around diagnosis (married, unmarried-partnered, and un-partnered) with time to viral suppression (TVS) and sustained viral suppression (SVS) in newly diagnosed heterosexual PWH from a HIV clinic in Birmingham, Alabama.
METHODS: TVS [time to first viral load (VL) <200 copies/ml] was measured using VLs from 12 months following diagnosis using Kaplan-Meier and proportional hazard model for interval censoring (n=153) to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). SVS was measured using VLs for 12 months after first VS using logistic regression model (n=137) to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. Models were adjusted for confounding demographics and clinical characteristics.
RESULTS: The study population comprised of 77% Black, 57% male, and 46% aged 31-49 years; 24% were married, 35% unmarried-partnered, and 41% un-partnered. The median TVS (days) was 57 for married, 73 for unmarried-partnered, and 75 for un-partnered. Compared to un-partnered individuals, unmarried-partnered had similar, whereas married had 69% higher [HR (95% CI): 1.69 (1.02, 2.78)] hazard of TVS. Compared to un-partnered, unmarried-partnered and married individuals had similar odds of achieving SVS.
CONCLUSION: Married, newly diagnosed, heterosexual PWH had faster TVS than un-partnered individuals suggesting that intimate partners may help achieve HIV care goals.