Table 1.
Non-HIV-related health care utilization and baseline characteristics associated with initial retention in HIV care
| Total (n = 5231) | Not retained (n = 540) | Retained (n = 4691) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex [n (%)] | ||||
| Female | 1127 (22) | 175 (32) | 952 (20) | <0.001 |
| Male | 4104 (78) | 365 (68) | 3739 (80) | |
| Age [n (%)] | 5231 | |||
| < 30 years | 978 (19) | 113 (21) | 865 (18) | 0.023 |
| 30–39 years | 1770 (34) | 174 (32) | 1596 (34) | |
| 40–49 years | 1607 (31) | 144 (27) | 1463 (31) | |
| ≥ 50 years | 876 (17) | 109 (20) | 767 (16) | |
| Non-HIV-related MSP services provided by a general practitioner [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 3538 (68) | 381 (71) | 3157 (67) | 0.132 |
| No | 1693 (32) | 159 (29) | 1534 (33) | |
| Non-HIV-related MSP services provided by a specialist [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 4733 (90) | 381 (71) | 4352 (93) | < 0.001 |
| No | 498 (10) | 159 (29) | 339 (7) | |
| Non-HIV-related laboratory test(s) performed [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 4618 (88) | 336 (62) | 4282 (91) | < 0.001 |
| No | 613 (12) | 204 (38) | 409 (9) | |
| Non-HIV-related hospital admission(s) [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 431 (8) | 85 (16) | 346 (7) | < 0.001 |
| No | 4800 (92) | 455 (84) | 4345 (93) | |
| Non-HIV-related drug prescriptions filled [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 4084 (78) | 338 (63) | 3746 (80) | < 0.001 |
| No | 1147 (22) | 202 (37) | 945 (20) | |
| Number of types of non-HIV-related health care services used [n (%)] | ||||
| None | 250 (5) | 85 (16) | 165 (4) | < 0.001 |
| One | 478 (9) | 63 (12) | 415 (9) | |
| Two | 1567 (30) | 130 (24) | 1437 (31) | |
| Three | 2570 (49) | 186 (34) | 2384 (51) | |
| Four | 366 (7) | 76 (14) | 290 (6) | |
| On ART in the retention year [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 2160 (41) | 0 (0) | 2160 (46) | < 0.001 |
| No | 3071 (59) | 540 (100) | 2531 (54) | |
| Hepatitis C [n (%)] | ||||
| Positive | 1585 (30) | 43 (8) | 1542 (33) | < 0.001 |
| Negative | 2467 (47) | 73 (14) | 2394 (51) | |
| Unknown | 1179 (23) | 424 (79) | 755 (16) | |
| AIDS diagnosed [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 746 (14) | 13 (2) | 733 (16) | < 0.001 |
| No | 4485 (86) | 527 (98) | 3958 (84) | |
| HIV risk factors [n (%)] | ||||
| Heterosexual | 751 (14) | 47 (9) | 704 (15) | < 0.001 |
| PWID | 1885 (36) | 138 (26) | 1747 (37) | |
| MSM | 1452 (28) | 54 (10) | 1398 (30) | |
| Other/unknown | 1143 (22) | 301 (56) | 842 (18) | |
| Year of diagnosis [n (%)] | ||||
| < 2000 | 365 (7) | 55 (10) | 310 (7) | 0.001 |
| 2000–2007 | 3779 (72) | 359 (66) | 3420 (73) | |
| 2008–2009 | 781 (15) | 84 (16) | 697 (15) | |
| 2010 | 306 (6) | 42 (8) | 264 (6) | |
| Patient’s residing health authority [n (%)] | ||||
| Fraser | 1216 (23) | 154 (29) | 1062 (23) | < 0.001 |
| Interior | 304 (6) | 42 (8) | 262 (6) | |
| Vancouver Coastal | 2781 (53) | 212 (39) | 2569 (55) | |
| Vancouver Island | 592 (11) | 53 (10) | 539 (11) | |
| Vancouver Northern | 214 (4) | 23 (4) | 191 (4) | |
| Unknown | 124 (2) | 56 (10) | 68 (1) | |
| Patient’s residence in urban area [n (%)] | ||||
| Yes | 4629 (88) | 320 (59) | 4309 (92) | < 0.001 |
| No | 185 (4) | 5 (1) | 180 (4) | |
| Unknown | 417 (8) | 215 (40) | 202 (4) | |
| Earliest available pVL during the linkage year (log10 copies/mL) | ||||
| [median (25th–75th percentile)] | 3.70 (1.69–4.66) | 3.88 (2.16–4.82) | 3.69 (1.69–4.65) | 0.104 |
| Earliest available CD4 count (cells/μL) during the linkage year | ||||
| [median (25th–75th percentile)] | 360 (230–520) | 460 (225–600) | 360 (230–520) | 0.110 |
| Follow-up time from linkage to the end of study follow-up (months) | ||||
| [median (25th–75th percentile)] | 48 (27–85) | 8 (5–12) | < 0.001 | |
All variables in the table were measured during the year an individual was linked to HIV care except for non-HIV-related care service variables. These variables were measured from the time of linkage to the end of study follow-up. ART, antiretroviral therapy; Hepatitis C, history of testing antibody positive for hepatitis C virus; MSM, men who have sex with men; PWID, people with a history of injecting drug use; other/unknown, other (blood transfusion, accidental puncture or perinatal exposure)/unknown (i.e. no reported HIV risk group); MSP, Medical Services Plan; ART, antiretroviral therapy; pVL, plasma viral load.