Who is lost to follow‐up in HIV care? Assessment of care retention over time and the impact of COVID‐19. Longitudinal analysis of the PISCIS cohort

• Published in: HIV medicine 2023-09, Vol.24 (9), p.965-978
• Main Authors: Palacio‐Vieira, Jorge, Moreno‐Fornés, Sergio, Díaz, Yesika, Aceitón, Jordi, Bruguera, Andreu, Nomah, Daniel K., Llibre, Josep M., Knobel, Hernando, Chivite, Iván, Miro, José M., Domingo, Pere, Suanzes, Paula, Fanjul, Francisco, Navarro, Gemma, Macorigh, Lizza, Mera, Arantzazu, Casabona, Jordi, Imaz, Arkaitz, Reyes‐Urueña, Juliana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral therapy; CD4 antigen; Cohort analysis; cohort studies; COVID-19; Demographics; Demography; Epidemiology; Health risks; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Latent class analysis; loss to follow‐up; Men; Pandemics; Public health
• ISSN: 1464-2662; 1468-1293
• DOI: 10.1111/hiv.13486

Introduction People living with HIV who are lost to follow‐up have a greater risk of health deterioration, mortality, and community transmission. Objective Our aim was to analyse both how rates of loss to follow‐up (LTFU) changed between 2006 and 2020 and how the COVID‐19 pandemic affected these rates in the PISCIS cohort study of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Methods We analysed socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics of LTFU yearly and with adjusted odds ratios to assess the impact of these determinants on LTFU in 2020 (the year of COVID‐19). We used latent class analysis to categorize classes of LTFU based on their socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics at each year. Results In total, 16.7% of the cohort were lost to follow‐up at any time in the 15 years (n = 19 417). Of people living with HIV who were receiving follow‐up, 81.5% were male and 19.5% were female; of those who were lost to follow‐up, 79.6% and 20.4% were male and female, respectively (p