Role of Intimate Partnership on Time to Viral Suppression and Sustained Viral Load among Newly-Diagnosed Heterosexual Persons Living with HIV

This study examined the association between partnership at diagnosis (married, unmarried-partnered, and un-partnered) with time to viral suppression (TVS) and sustained viral load (SVL) in newly-diagnosed heterosexual persons living with HIV at UAB 1917 Clinic. TVS [time to first viral load (VL) <200 copies/ml] was measured using VLs from the 12 months following diagnosis using proportional hazard model for interval censoring (n=153). SVL was measured using VLs for 12 months after first viral suppression using logistic regression model (n=137). Models were adjusted for demographics and clinical characteristics. Compared to un-partnered individuals, unmarried-partnered individuals had similar, whereas married individuals had 69% higher [HR (95% CI): 1.69 (1.02, 2.78)] hazard of viral suppression. Compared to un-partnered individuals, unmarried-partnered and married individuals had similar odds of achieving SVL.