HIV care continuum among newly diagnosed student and non-student youths between 2012 and 2016 in Hangzhou, China

• Published in: Chinese medical journal Vol. 132; no. 12; pp. 1420 - 1428
• Main Authors: Luo, Yan, Wu, Hong, Zhang, Xing-Liang, Li, Xi-Ting, Scott, Sarah Robbins, Chen, Jun-Fang, Wu, Zun-You
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies 20.06.2019; Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, China%National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China; Wolters Kluwer
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Antiretroviral drugs; Disease transmission; Education; Health care access; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Infections; Lymphocytes; Statistical analysis; Student organizations; China; Youths; Non-student; Human immunodeficiency virus; Student; Antiretroviral therapy; Viral suppression
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000000264

Youths are disproportionally affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We aimed to assess antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and viral suppression rates among student and non-student youths in Hangzhou, China. Data were taken from the Chinese HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Comprehensive Response Information Management System (CRIMS). Youths aged 15-24 years whom were newly diagnosed with HIV between 2012 and 2016 and were living in Hangzhou were included in the study. Comparisons between student and non-student youths were made for antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation within 30 days, 90 days, and 12 months of HIV diagnosis, and the viral suppression rate at 12 months of HIV diagnosis and at 12 months of ART initiation. A total of 707 cases met inclusion criteria, 29.6% of which were students and 70.4% were non-student youths. The student group had a higher proportion of ART initiation compared with the non-student group within 30 days of diagnosis (45.5% vs 37.0%, p = 0.044), and a slightly higher but not statistically significant proportion at 90 days (67.0% vs 62.7%), and 12 months (83.7% vs 78.5%) of HIV diagnosis. ART initiation within 30 days improved from < 15% in 2012 to over 65% in 2016 in both groups, and ART initiation within 90 days improved from <30% in 2012 to >90% in 2016. A smaller proportion of students experienced viral suppression compared with the non-student group (9.6% vs 17.1%, p = 0.011) at 12 months after HIV diagnosis, but the suppression rate was similar at 12 months of ART initiation (69.9% vs 71.1%, p = 0.743). ART initiation in both student and non-student youths has significantly improved between 2012 and 2016. However, the viral suppression rate remained unacceptably low at 12 months of HIV diagnosis in both student and non-student groups. Specific intervention strategies must be taken to address this challenge.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.