The care status and factors affecting antiretroviral therapy timing for people living with HIV: a retrospective cohort study in Shandong Province, China

This study described the care status of People Living with HIV (PLWH) including antiretroviral therapy (ART) and viral suppression from 2018 to 2020. We recognized that immediate ART was associated with improved viral suppression. Therefore, we also aimed to explore the factors affecting the early initiation of ART. We initiated a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the care status of people living with HIV in Shandong Province. From 2018 to 2020, patients infected by homosexual transmission in particular had a higher ART rate (78.82%, 79.69%, and 87.72%, respectively). Of PLWH who received ART, 79.57%, 77.63%, and 67.71% achieved viral suppression, respectively. However, COVID-19 may affect the rate of ART and viral suppression, which we need to explore in our research. From 2018 to 2020, the proportion of immediate antiretroviral therapy within 30 days of diagnosis increased from 48.12% to 65.42%. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that patients with junior college degree or above (OR, 1.39 [95%CI, 1.12-1.73]) and key population or medical institutions (OR, 3.62 [95%CI, 2.18-6.16]; OR, 3.88 [95%CI, 2.33-6.59]) were substantially likely to receive ART immediately, while patients outside the province (OR, 0.60 [95%CI, 0.50-0.73]) were less likely to receive ART immediately.