Abstract
Objectives: To determine the rate and factors associated with viral load non-suppression among adults living with HIV/AIDS on active anti-retroviral therapy (ART).Design: A retrospective cross-sectional studySetting: Three ART clinics in Kumasi, GhanaParticipants: All HIV-infected adults who were ≥18 years and on active ART for 12 months and whose viral loadnhad been estimated were included.Main outcome measure: Unsuppressed viral load among patients on ARTResults: In all, 483 HIV patients were included in the study, with 369 (76.4%) achieving viral load suppression. Gender, educational level, comorbidity status, and duration on ART were independently associated with viral nonsuppression (p < 0.05).Conclusions: This study has revealed that the rate of viral suppression in the study area is lower than the UNAIDS 90% target. The findings have implications on designing new and stemming up implementation of existing interventions to improve the rate of viral suppression among patients in the study area. It is also necessary that more of such studies are replicated in other parts of the country to identify risk factors for virological failure among patients on ART.
Highlights
HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of global disease burden, with over 39 million deaths and more than 36 million people currently living with the condition.[1]
We conducted this study to determine the rate and factors associated with viral load non-suppression among adults living with HIV/AIDS on active anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region of Ghana
Our multinomial logistic regression model revealed that gender, educational level, comorbidity status, and duration on ART were independently associated with viral non-suppression
Summary
HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of global disease burden, with over 39 million deaths and more than 36 million people currently living with the condition.[1] Despite great advancements in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and worldwide progress towards treatment and prevention programs, about 2 million people get infected with HIV every year. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of the global HIV epidemic, recording over 75% deaths and 65% new infections in 2017.2. In 2014, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched the 90-90-90 targets to diagnose 90% of all HIV-positive persons, providing ART for 90% of those diagnosed and achieving viral suppression for 90% of those treated by 2020. While access to ART has been scaled up worldwide, virological failure remains a common problem for HIV patients
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