Virologic Failure: The Roles of Race, Adherence, and Quality of Life

Nonadherence to treatment is widely accepted as the major reason that antiretroviral regimens fail. However, the association between nonadherence and virologic failure varies, depending on both the drug class and the population being studied, and the underlying determinants of nonadherence are still the subject of much research. Several studies have suggested that blacks are less likely to adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART) than are whites and that mental illness (in particular, depression) also influences adherence. Now, two new reports further explore the links among race, adherence, and risk for virologic failure.

The first report provides a detailed look at previous findings from ACTG 5095, a randomized trial of three PI-sparing regi…