Insights into reasons for discontinuation according to year of starting first regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy in a cohort of antiretroviral-naïve patients

Membro del ICoNA Foundation Study Group per la ricerca collaborativa pubblicata sulla rivista HIV Med

Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and factors associated with vitamin D deficiency and morbidity among HIV-infected patients enrolled in a large Italian cohort

A high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (hypD) in HIV-infected patients has been reported, but reasons are unclear

Favourable evolution of virological and immunological profiles in treated and untreated patients in Italy in the period 1998-2008

BACKGROUND: This study provides an estimate of the proportion of HIV-positive patients in Italian clinics showing an 'adverse prognosis' (defined as a CD4 count ≤ 200 cells/μL or an HIV RNA >50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) over time, and investigates whether this proportion varied according to patients' characteristics. METHODS: We estimated the annual proportion of patients with a CD4 count ≤ 200 cells/μL or HIV RNA > 50 copies/mL out of the total number of patients in the Icona Foundation cohort seen in any given year, both overall and after stratifying by demographical and treatment status groups. Generalized estimating equation models for Poisson regression were applied. RESULTS: In 1998-2008, the prevalence of patients with a CD4 count ≤ 200 cells/μL decreased from 14 to 6% [adjusted relative risk (RR) 0.86/year; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-0.88; P<0.0001]. The prevalence of HIV RNA > 50 copies/mL decreased from 66 to 40% (adjusted RR 0.95/year; 95% CI 0.95-0.96; P<0.0001) in all patients and from 38 to 12% in the subgroup of patients who had previously received antiretroviral therapy (ART) for ≥ 6 months (adjusted RR 0.89/year; 95%