Alcohol use and the longitudinal HIV care continuum for people with HIV who enrolled in care between 2011 and 2019

Abstract

PurposeWe described the impact of alcohol use on longitudinal engagement in HIV care including loss to follow-up, durability of viral suppression, and death. MethodsWe followed a cohort of 1781 people with HIV from enrolled in care at one of seven US clinics, 2011–2019 through 102 months. We used a multistate, time-varying Markov process and restricted mean time to summarize engagement in HIV care over follow-up according to baseline self-reported alcohol use (none, moderate, or unhealthy). ResultsOur sample (86% male, 54% White) had median age of 35 years. Over 102 months, people with no, moderate, and unhealthy alcohol use averaged 62.3, 61.1, and 59.5 months virally suppressed, respectively. People who reported unhealthy or moderate alcohol use spent 5.1 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.8, 9.3) and 7.6 (95%CI: 3.1, 11.7) more months lost to care than nondrinkers. Compared to no use, unhealthy alcohol use was associated with 3.4 (95%CI: −5.6, −1.6) fewer months in care, not virally suppressed. There were no statistically significant differences after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. ConclusionsModerate or unhealthy drinking at enrollment in HIV care was associated with poor retention in care. Alcohol use was not associated with time spent virally suppressed.