Objective: The current study aims to assess the effect of early scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) at HIV diagnosis on the economic burden of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) in HIV-infected population.
Design: Cohort study.
Methods: The study cohort comprised 10 693 newly diagnosed HIV patients without CMDs before HIV diagnosis identified from a nationwide HIV cohort in Taiwan. The patients were stratified by ART use [medication possession ratio ≥0.8: (high) vs. <0.8: (low)] and AIDS-defining illnesses (ADI) status [present: (+) vs. absent: (-)] at the first year of HIV diagnosis into four groups: ART (low) and ADI (-), ART (low) and ADI (+), ART (high) and ADI (-), and ART (high) and ADI (+). The economic analysis of incident CMDs was from the perspective of Taiwan's single-payer healthcare system and estimated using generalized estimating equations.
Results: CMDs significantly increased annual direct medical costs by 31% (hypertension) to 127% [cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)]. The annual cost burden of diabetes, dyslipidemia, and CVDs in the ART (high) and ADI (-) group significantly decreased by 42, 30, and 31%, respectively, compared with the ART (low) and ADI (+) group. Compared with the ART (low) and ADI (+) group, the annual cost burden of CVDs in the ART (high) and ADI (-) and ART (high) and ADI (+) groups decreased by 31 and 14%, respectively, suggesting increased cost-savings when ART is initiated at diagnosis before ADI occurrence.
Conclusion: The early scale-up of ART at diagnosis before ADI occurrence is important for minimizing the economic burden of incident CMDs among HIV-infected patients.