Effect of gender and calendar year on time to and duration of virologic suppression among antiretroviral-naïve HIV-infected individuals initiating combination antiretroviral therapy.
To determine the effects of gender and calendar year on time to and duration of virologic suppression among HIV-infected antiretroviral-naïve individuals initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).
Ontario Cohort Study antiretroviral-naïve participants who initiated cART after December 31, 1998, and who had =2 follow-up viral loads were included. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the effects of gender and calendar year on times to virologic suppression and rebound.
Of the 840 patients, 81% were male (median age 40 years; interquartile range [IQR], 34-46). Time to virologic suppression was shorter among women (hazard ratio [HR]=1.27, P=.01) and in more recent calendar time periods (2002-2004: HR, 1.04, P=.67; 2005-2006: HR, 1.22, P=.06; 2007-2008: HR, 1.36, P=.004) compared to 1999-2001 after adjusting for age and type of cART regimens. Women had shorter times to virologic rebound (HR, 1.57; P