Female gender predicts lower access and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in a setting of free healthcare

BMC Infectious Diseases

Table 1 Baseline socio-demographic, behavioural, and clinical characteristics of ACCESS participants^†, stratified by gender.

Characteristic	Male n = 341 (63%)	Female n = 204 (37%)	Odds Ratio (95% CI)	pvalue
Age
≥ 24 years	332 (97)	179 (88)	5.2 (2.4-11.3)	<0.001
<24 years	9 (3)	25 (12)
Aboriginal ethnicity
No	249 (73)	111 (54)
Yes	92 (27)	93 (46)	2.3 (1.6-3.3)	<0.001
Daily heroin use*
No	264 (77)	129 (63)
Yes	77 (23)	75 (37)	2.0 (1.4-2.9)	<0.001
Daily cocaine use*
No	227 (67)	126 (62)
Yes	114 (33)	78 (38)	1.2 (0.9-1.8)	0.256
Daily crack use*
No	271 (79)	142 (70)	1.7 (1.1-2.5)	0.009
Yes	70 (21)	62 (30)
Current methadone use
No	251 (74)	125 (61)
Yes	90 (26)	79 (39)	1.8 (1.2-2.6)	0.003
Any treatment
No	140 (41)	75 (37)
Yes	201 (59)	129 (63)	1.2 (0.8-1.7)	0.320
Unstable housing
No	95 (28)	64 (31)
Yes	246 (72)	140 (69)	0.8 (0.6-1.2)	0.383
On ART at baseline
No	208 (61)	142 (70)
Yes	133 (39)	62 (30)	0.7 (0.5-1.0)	0.042
Viral load (log ₁₀ copies/mL)
≥ 100,000	66 (19)	32 (16)	1.3 (0.8-2.1)	0.281
<100,000	275 (81)	172 (84)
CD4+ count (cells/mm ³ )
≥ 200	261 (77)	164 (80)	0.8 (0.5-1.2)	0.294
<200	80 (23)	40 (20)

^†Includes all eligible participants that completed at least one interview between May 1996 and April 2008 and where baseline clinical data was available. *Refers to the six-month period prior to the baseline interview.

ISSN: 1471-2334