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Impact of early antiretroviral treatment on sexual behaviour: a randomised comparison

Lampe, FC; Rodger, AJ; Burman, W; Grulich, A; Friedland, G; Sadr, WE; Neaton, J; ... INSIGHT START Study Group; + view all (2019) Impact of early antiretroviral treatment on sexual behaviour: a randomised comparison. AIDS , 33 (15) pp. 2337-2350. 10.1097/QAD.0000000000002359. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) reduces HIV infectiousness, but the effect of early ART on sexual behaviour is unclear. METHODS: We assessed, within the START randomised trial that enrolled HIV-positive adults with CD4>500/mm, the effect of early (immediate) versus deferred ART on: (i) condomless sex with HIV-serodifferent partners (CLS-D); (ii) all condomless sex (CLS); (iii) HIV transmission-risk-sex (CLS-D-HIV-risk, defined as CLS-D and: not on ART or started ART < 6 months ago or viral load(VL)>200c/mL or no VL in past 6 months), during two year follow-up. Month-12 CLS-D (2010-2014) was the primary outcome. RESULTS: Among 2562 MSM, there was no difference between immediate and deferred arms in CLS-D at month 12 [12.6% versus 13.1%; difference (95% CI): -0.4% (-3.1%, 2.2%), p = 0.75] or month 24, or in CLS. Among 2010 heterosexual men and women, CLS-D at month 12 tended to be higher in the immediate versus deferred arm [10.8% versus 8.3%; difference:2.5% (-0.1%, 5.2%), p = 0.062]; the difference was greater at month 24 [9.3% versus 5.6%; difference:3.7%(1.0%, 6.4%), p = 0.007], at which time CLS was higher in the immediate arm [20.7% versus 15.7%, p = 0.013]. CLS-D-HIV-risk at month 12 was substantially lower in the immediate versus deferred arm for MSM [0.2% versus 11.0%; difference: -10.7% (-12.5%, -8.9%), p < 0.001] and heterosexuals [0.6% versus 7.7%; difference: -7.0% (-8.8%, -5.3%), p < 0.001], due to viral suppression on ART. CONCLUSIONS: A strategy of early ART had no effect on condomless sex with HIV-serodifferent partners among MSM, but resulted in modestly higher prevalence among heterosexuals. However, among MSM and heterosexuals, early ART resulted in a substantial reduction in HIV-transmission-risk-sex, to a very low absolute level.

Type: Article
Title: Impact of early antiretroviral treatment on sexual behaviour: a randomised comparison
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000002359
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000002359
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: antiretroviral therapy, condomless sex, heterosexual, HIV, MSM, transmission
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health > Infection and Population Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081319
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