Risk Factors Associated with Unsuppressed Viral Load in People Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment in Jawa Barat, Indonesia

Introduction: The success rate of antiretroviral therapy (ART) was sufficiently high globally that by 2030, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection would no longer become a significant health issue. The evaluation of the success rate of ART in Indonesia is still fairly low, with estimates that 6.1% of the total population living with HIV. This is affected by treatment failure and limitations of viral load (VL) testing. We investigated the risk factors for failure of VL suppression in HIV patients on ART. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1203 subjects, medical records of adult HIV patients in Jawa Barat, who followed the Viral Load Months Program from the government in 2020. Data were taken using total sampling technique and analyzed with multivariate logistic regression model using SPSS version 21 software. Results: Of the 1203 subjects, 5.2% had unsuppressed VL and 94.8% had suppressed VL. The results showed that a nevirapine-based regimen was the main factor increasing unsuppressed risk (Prevalence Odds Ratio (POR) 3.75 (95% CI: 1.41-9.99, p-value 0.008)). The other factors are ART duration <5 years (POR 2.46; 95% CI: 1.22-4.97, p-value 0.012), WHO clinical stage III-IV (POR 2.30; 95% CI: 1.30-4.08, p-value 0.004), and loss to follow-up history (POR 2.28, 95% CI: 1.03-5.07). Meanwhile, the zidovudine-based regimen reduced the risk of failure (POR 0.34 (95% CI: 0.12-0.96)). Conclusion: Several factors could contribute to unsuppressed VL in HIV patients receiving ART, which warrants further investigations.