Studies Examining ART-Associated Lipid Abnormalities, ART Adherence
- "Associations Among Race/Ethnicity, ApoC-III Genotypes and Lipids in HIV-1-Infected Individuals on Antiretroviral Therapy," PLoS Medicine: Andrea Foulkes of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's School of Public Health and Health Sciences and colleagues examined whether ethnicity is a critical predictor of plasma lipids and lipid abnormalities associated with antiretroviral therapy. They also examined how variants of the apoC-III/apoA-I gene interact with protease inhibitors to affect plasma triglyceride levels among ethnic groups (Foulkes et al., PLoS Medicine, March 2006). In a related perspective piece, Patrick Mallon of the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of New South Wales says the study highlights the necessity of involving people from a wide range of ethnic groups in pharmacogenetic studies to determine the effects of genetic variation (Mallon, PLoS Medicine, March 2006).
- "Correlates of Self-Reported Nonadherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV-Infected Patients: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study," Journal of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes: Tracy Glass of the Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and colleagues examined data from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study to examine the prevalence of self-reported antiretroviral therapy adherence, as well as the effects of socioeconomic, patient and systematic factors on adherence (Boggs, Reuters Health, 3/28). The researchers distributed a questionnaire to 3,607 participants who had been receiving antiretroviral therapy for six months or more and had been on their current regimen for one month or more. They found that more than 30% of participants reported missing one or more doses, 14.9% reported missing two or more doses, and 7.1% reported taking less than 95% of their doses in the previous four weeks. Researchers concluded that younger age, inadequate social support and regimen complexity are significant factors in nonadherence to antiretroviral therapy. They called for increased attention to the behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS to improve therapy adherence among people living with the disease (Glass et al., Journal of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, March 2006).