Related factors to non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV/AIDS patients

Objective: To identify sociodemographic, clinical, and pharmacological factors associated with nonadherence to antiretroviral treatment in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome treated between 2017 and 2020 in four cities in Colombia. Method: An observational, cross-sectional, retrospective study was conducted of a population of patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome treated between 2017 and 2020. The Morisky- Green scale, the simplified medication adherence questionnaire, and the simplified scale to detect adherence problems to antiretroviral treatment were applied to determine patient adherence. A binomial multiple logistic regression was performed to evaluate the factors that best explain nonadherence. Results: A total of 9,835 patients were evaluated, of whom 74.4% were men, 71.1% were aged between 18 and 44 years, 76.0% had attended at most secondary school, 78.1% were single, and 97.6% resided in an urban area. After applying three different scales to each patient, 10% of the study population were identified as nonadherent to treatment. The risk of nonadherence was significantly higher in patients who presented any drug- related problem or had an adverse reaction to antiretroviral drugs. Conclusions: The variables most strongly associated with nonadherence to antiretroviral treatment were drug-related problems, adverse drug reactions, a history of nonadherence to treatment, and psychoactive substance use.