Association Between Living With Children and Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in the Women's Interagency HIV Study

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this work was to evaluate whether living with children adversely affects adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS. We conducted a prospective cohort study between October 1998 and September 2005. The study outcome was ≥95% adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy evaluated at 5832 semiannual visits among 1366 HIV-infected women in the Women9s Interagency HIV Study. The primary exposure defined at the visit immediately before outcome ascertainment was the number of children ≤18 years of age reported living in the household. RESULTS. The percentage of women who reported ≥2 children in the household who also reported ≥95% adherence ranged from 68% to 75% compared with adherence when either 1 child or no children were reported. Each additional child reported living in the household was associated with a 6% decrease in the odds of ≥95% adherence. CONCLUSION. The impact of living with a child on the ability to take medications by HIV-infected women has not been examined thoroughly. Our data suggest that adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy is inversely associated with the number of children living in the household.