Injecting drug use is associated with a more rapid CD4 cell decline among treatment naïve HIV‐positive patients in Indonesia

Background: It remains unclear whether the natural course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) differs in subjects infected through injecting drug use (IDU) and no data have been published from low‐ or middle‐income countries. We addressed this question in an urban cohort in Indonesia, which is experiencing a rapidly growing HIV epidemic strongly driven by IDU. Methods: All antiretroviral treatment (ART) naïve HIV‐positive patients who had at least two subsequent CD4 cell counts available before starting ART were included in this study. We examined the association between IDU and CD4 cell decline using a linear mixed model, with adjustment for possible confounders such as HIV viral load and hepatitis C antibodies. Results: Among 284 HIV‐positive ART naïve patients, the majority were male (56%) with a history of IDU (79% among men). People with a history of IDU had a statistically significant faster decline in CD4 cells (p Conclusions: We show that a history of IDU is associated with a more rapid CD4 cell natural decline among HIV‐positive individuals in Indonesia. These findings have implications for monitoring ART naïve patients with a history of IDU and for starting ART in this group.
Introduction Injecting drug use (IDU) is responsible for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in 10% of all cases worldwide, and 30% of cases outside Africa [1]. IDU is not only [...]