Viral suppression among middle-aged and aging MSM living with HIV: Partnership type and quality
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Functional support-the availability of material aid, emotional support, or companionship-promotes general well-being. For men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV, having a person who supports you associates with viral suppression. This study examines the association between supportive partnerships and HIV viral suppression among middle-aged and aging MSM living with HIV. A total of 423 middle-aged and aging MSM (mean age, 58.2 years) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study provided self-reported data about their partnerships. Separate Poisson regression models assessed how partnership type, support, strain, and duration from April 2017 were associated with repeated viral load measurements up to April 2019. Of the follow-up visits (N = 1289), 90.0% of participants were virally suppressed. Most participants reported being non-Hispanic White (61.0%) and college-educated (83.4%). Participants were asked about their primary partnerships (i.e., "someone they are committed to above anyone else") and secondary partnerships (i.e., those who can also be intimate or supportive but not necessarily romantic or sexual). The participants reported: no partnerships (45.2%), only primary partnerships (31.0%), only secondary partnerships (11.1%), or both primary and secondary partnerships (12.8%). Primary and secondary partnerships had mean (SD) durations of 15.9 (11.3) and 25.2 (16.5) years, respectively. Participants reporting both primary and secondary partnerships (compared with no partnership) showed significantly higher odds of being virally suppressed (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00-1.08; p = 0.043). Albeit not statistically significant, primary-only (aPR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.97-1.06; p = 0.547) or secondary-only (aPR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.98-1.08; p = 0.224) partnership types were positively associated with viral suppression. Partner support and strain were not associated with viral suppression in any partnership group. Being older and non-Hispanic Black were positively and negatively associated with viral suppression, respectively. Encouraging partnerships should be considered one of clinicians' many tools to help middle-aged and aging MSM achieve long-term viral suppression.
Source: PLoS ONE
Institutions: Georgetown University, Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Miriam Hospital, Georgetown University Medical Center, City University of New York, Hunter College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles, Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,749
Funders: Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance, National Institutes of Health, University of California, San Francisco, Center for AIDS Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Awards: G1913134163, G311558797, G3869857964, G4953964255, Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging among Men Who Have Sex with Men, G5699974340, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, G5900455136, G6384504179, G6509896931, G6990385686, G775892330, G7807729167, G9000034708, G9000080293, University of Pittsburgh MACS/WIHS CCS, MACS/WIHS -CCS, SF Bay Area MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, UNC MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study Clinical Research Site, Surviving the HIV Epidemic (S/HE) in metropolitan Washington DC - Advancing knowledge through cohort studies, Center for AIDS Research at Emory University, Northwestern CORE Clinical Research Site: Trans-omics for HIV/AIDS Research, Los Angeles CRS for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, Data Analysis and Coordination Center for the MACS-WIHS Combined Cohort Study, MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study: Cook County Clinical Research Site (CC_CRS), The University of North Carolina Center for AIDS Research, MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study: Brooklyn Clinical Research Site (Bklyn CRS), Clinical Research Sites for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MACS/WIHS-CCS) - Baltimore/Wash DC Center, Atlanta MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study Clinical Research Site, UAB-MISS MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, Clinical Research Sites for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MACS/WIHS-CCS), UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), G929137571
OpenAlex ID: W3203974942