Background: In Mexico, the number of people living with HIV (PLWH) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased in the last 20 years. The elimination of a CD4 threshold to initiate publicly funded ART was a major policy implemented in 2014. The study objective was to assess the determinants of Virologic Failure (VF) in Mexican PLWH on first-line ART between 2008 and 2017 and to evaluate the effects of changes following the 2014 policy.
Methods: A 10-year patient-level data analysis was conducted using the Mexican SALVAR database. The main outcome was the proportion of PLWH with VF. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify the association between covariates and VF before and after the 2014 policy implementation.
Results: We found a lower proportion of people with VF in 2014-2017 compared with 2008-2013 (50% vs 33%, p<0.001). The multivariable analysis showed a reduction in the odds of virologic failure after 2014 (Odds ratio: 0.50 [95% CI: 0.48-0.51]). Place of treatment and level of deprivation were significant predictors of VF in during 2014-2017, but not before.
Conclusion: This study indicates that, by lowering threshold levels of CD4 required for treatment initiation in Mexico, a higher number of PLWH initiated treatment during 2014-2017, compared to 2008-2013 and the odds of VF were reduced.
Keywords: Antiretroviral Therapy; HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus); Location; North America; Other; Prevention; Viral disease.