Incarceration and Adherence to HIV Treatment

The more times HIV-infected injection-drug users were incarcerated, the less likely they were to be adherent to their antiretroviral therapy.

In the U.S., about 14% of HIV-infected men and women cycle through the correctional system each year. How these episodes of incarceration affect adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is unclear. Some studies suggest that adherence and virologic control improve during periods of incarceration, only to lapse again when the individual is released (Clin Infect Dis 2004; 38:1754 and Public Health Rep 2005; 120:84). Now, a prospective study of injection-drug users in British Columbia suggests a dose-response relationship between the cumulative burden of incarceration and the likelihood of nonadherence to ART.

Study participants were recruited from the community and followed for a median 29 months. Adherence was measured using centralized pharm…

Reviewing Authors

Claire E. Farel, MD

David A. Wohl, MD

Incarceration and Adherence to HIV Treatment

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Reviewing Authors