Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Study Population by Number of Syndemic Behavioral Conditions
| No. of Syndemic Conditions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Total | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| n = 6721 | 560 (8.3%) | 1722 (25.6%) | 3429 (51.0%) | 1010 (15.0%) | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 50.0 (44.4–55.3) | 45.65 (38.6–54.1) | 49.8 (43.0–56.4) | 50.6 (45.6–55.4) | 49.8 (45.8–54.3) |
| Sex, No. (%) | |||||
| Women | 338 (5.0) | 54 (9.6) | 125 (7.3) | 115 (3.4) | 44 (4.4) |
| Men | 6383 (95.0) | 506 (90.4) | 1597 (92.7) | 3314 (96.6) | 966 (95.6) |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | |||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 1448 (21.5) | 137 (24.5) | 443 (25.7) | 648 (18.9) | 220 (21.8) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 4358 (64.8) | 342 (61.1) | 1025 (59.5) | 2373 (69.2) | 618 (61.2) |
| Hispanic | 659 (9.8) | 65 (11.6) | 168 (9.8) | 296 (8.6) | 130 (12.9) |
| Other | 256 (3.8) | 16 (2.9) | 86 (5.0) | 112 (3.3) | 42 (4.2) |
| Education, No. (%) | |||||
| < High school | 492 (7.3) | 14 (2.5) | 88 (5.2) | 276 (8.1) | 114 (11.4) |
| High school or equivalent | 2205 (32.8) | 93 (16.8) | 480 (28.1) | 1233 (36.4) | 399 (39.9) |
| > High school | 3951 (58.8) | 447 (80.7) | 1139 (66.7) | 1879 (55.5) | 486 (48.6) |
| Diabetes (glucose measurement, antidiabetic agent use, and/ or at least 1 inpatient/2 outpatient ICD-9 codes for diabetes), No. (%) | 1201 (17.9) | 92 (16.4) | 284 (16.5) | 624 (18.2) | 201 (19.9) |
| Hypertension, No. (%) | |||||
| No (BP < 140/90 mm Hg, no antihypertensive medication) | 2338 (34.8) | 247 (44.1) | 610 (35.4) | 1155 (33.7) | 326 (32.3) |
| Controlled (BP < 140/90 mm Hg, on antihypertensive medication) | 2617 (38.9) | 187 (33.4) | 658 (38.2) | 1341 (39.1) | 431 (42.7) |
| Uncontrolled (BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg) | 1762 (26.2) | 125 (22.3) | 453 (26.3) | 931 (27.2) | 253 (25.0) |
| LDL cholesterol ≥ 160 mg/dL, blood, No. (%) | 532 (7.9) | 49 (8.8) | 155 (9.0) | 261 (7.6) | 67 (6.6) |
| HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dL, blood, No. (%) | 3074 (45.7) | 286 (51.1) | 862 (50.1) | 1482 (43.2) | 444 (44.0) |
| Triglycerides ≥ 200 mg/dL, blood, No. (%) | 1505 (22.4) | 108 (19.3) | 409 (23.8) | 752 (21.9) | 236 (23.4) |
| Obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2), No. (%) | 1894 (28.2) | 186 (33.2) | 526 (30.5) | 913 (26.6) | 269 (26.6) |
| COPD, No. (%) | 762 (11.3) | 27 (4.8) | 136 (7.9) | 421 (12.3) | 178 (17.6) |
| Prevalent CVD, No. (%) | 1060 (15.8) | 40 (7.1) | 245 (14.2) | 585 (17.1) | 190 (18.8) |
| VACS Index, median (IQR) | 21.0 (10.0–33.0) | 12.0 (6.0–27.0) | 18.0 (10.0–33.0) | 22.0 (11.0–34.0) | 22.0 (12.0–35.0) |
| Hepatitis C infection, No. (%) | 2368 (35.2) | 54 (9.6) | 362 (21.0) | 1413 (41.2) | 539 (53.4) |
| Anemia (hemoglobin < 13 g/dL men; <12 g/dL women), No. (%) | 1382 (20.6) | 90 (16.1) | 326 (18.9) | 727 (21.2) | 239 (23.7) |
| Renal disease (estimated GFR, mL/min/1.73 m2), No. (%) | |||||
| <30 | 95 (1.4) | 5 (0.9) | 24 (1.4) | 52 (1.5) | 14 (1.4) |
| 30–59 | 357 (5.3) | 28 (5.0) | 109 (6.3) | 181 (5.3) | 39 (3.9) |
| ≥60 | 6174 (91.9) | 514 (91.8) | 1564 (90.8) | 3151 (91.9) | 945 (93.6) |
| PTSD (ICD-9 code), No. (%) | |||||
| No | 5695 (84.7) | 538 (96.1) | 1590 (92.3) | 2890 (84.3) | 677 (67.0) |
| Yes | 1026 (15.3) | 22 (3.9) | 132 (7.7) | 539 (15.7) | 333 (33.0) |
| Illicit drug use, No. (%) | 2682 (39.9) | 20 (3.6) | 321 (18.6) | 1675 (48.8) | 666 (65.9) |
| Cigarette use, No. (%) | |||||
| Current | 3426 (51.0) | 0 (0.0) | 486 (28.2) | 2155 (62.8) | 785 (77.7) |
| Former | 1690 (25.1) | 0 (0.0) | 377 (21.9) | 1088 (31.7) | 225 (22.3) |
| Never | 1605 (23.9) | 560 (100.0) | 859 (49.9) | 186 (5.4) | 0 (0.0) |
| Alcohol consumption, No. (%) | |||||
| Not current drinker | 2265 (33.7) | 0 (0.0) | 390 (22.6) | 1457 (42.5) | 418 (41.4) |
| Not hazardous | 1694 (25.2) | 560 (100.0) | 950 (55.2) | 184 (5.4) | 0 (0.0) |
| Unhealthy and/or alcohol use disorder | 2762 (41.1) | 0 (0.0) | 382 (22.2) | 1788 (52.1) | 592 (58.6) |
| Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10), No. (%) | |||||
| No | 5254 (78.2) | 560 (100.0) | 1635 (94.9) | 3059 (89.2) | 0 (0.0) |
| Yes | 1467 (21.8) | 0 (0.0) | 87 (5.1) | 370 (10.8) | 1010 (100.0) |
| HIV status, No. (%) | |||||
| Uninfected (HIV-) | 3374 (50.2) | 298 (53.2) | 876 (50.9) | 1718 (50.1) | 482 (47.7) |
| Infected (HIV+) | 3347 (49.8) | 262 (46.8) | 846 (49.1) | 1711 (49.9) | 528 (52.3) |
| HIV-1 RNA viral load ≥ 400 copies/mL (% of HIV+) | 1752 (52.3) | 127 (48.5) | 446 (52.7) | 885 (51.7) | 294 (55.7) |
| CD4+ T-cell count < 500 cells/μL3 (% of HIV+) | 2267 (67.7) | 173 (66.0) | 572 (67.6) | 1151 (67.3) | 371 (70.3) |
| On antiretroviral therapy, No. (% of HIV+) | 2678 (80.0) | 211 (80.5) | 704 (83.2) | 1354 (79.1) | 409 (77.5) |
Diabetes was identified using a previously validated metric that incorporates glucose measurements, antidiabetic agent use, and/or at least 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient ICD-9 codes for diabetes; hepatitis C virus sero-positivity was defined as a positive hepatitis C virus antibody test result or at least 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient ICD-9 codes for this diagnosis. VACS Index includes 6 clinical variables (CD4 cell count, HIV RNA load, hepatitis C serostatus, hemoglobin, estimated glomerular filtration, and fibrosis-4). Total missing frequency = 81.
Abbreviations: AUDIT-C, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IQR, interquartile range; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.