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. 2007 Mar;11(2):185-94.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-006-9152-0.

Drug use and medication adherence among HIV-1 infected individuals

Charles H Hinkin  1 , Terry R Barclay, Steven A Castellon, Andrew J Levine, Ramani S Durvasula, Sarah D Marion, Hector F Myers, Douglas Longshore
Affiliations

Drug use and medication adherence among HIV-1 infected individuals

Charles H Hinkin et al. AIDS Behav. 2007 Mar.

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the impact of drug use and abuse on medication adherence among 150 HIV-infected individuals, 102 who tested urinalysis positive for recent illicit drug use. Medication adherence was tracked over a 6-month period using an electronic monitoring device (MEMS caps). Over the 6-month study drug-positive participants demonstrated significantly worse medication adherence than did drug-negative participants (63 vs. 79%, respectively). Logistic regression revealed that drug use was associated with over a fourfold greater risk of adherence failure. Stimulant users were at greatest risk for poor adherence. Based upon within-participants analyses comparing 3-day adherence rates when actively using versus not using drugs, this appears to be more a function of state rather than trait. These data suggest that it is the acute effects of intoxication, rather than stable features that may be characteristic of the drug-using populace, which leads to difficulties with medication adherence.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Medication adherence rates among drug-positive and drug-negative participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Medication adherence rates among stimulant users, non-stimulant drug users, and drug-negative participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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