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Researchers from the Perelman School
of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania—led by Baligh R. Yehia, MD, MPP,
MSHP, a clinical instructor in the Division of Infectious Disease at the
Perelman School of Medicine—conducted a retrospective analysis from 2001 to
2011 of approximately 36,845 patients at 13 clinics in the HIV Research
Network, a consortium that cares for HIV-infected patients in the United
States. Of the group, 285 self-identified as transgender.
Results showed that transgender
individuals with HIV infection stayed in care to the same extent as other
HIV-positive men or women. According to the study, transgender persons remained
in care, received antiretroviral therapy, and achieved HIV suppression 80
percent, 76 percent, and 68 percent of the time, respectively, during the
study’s 10-year timeframe. Results for men were 81 percent, 77 percent, and 69
percent while women were 81 percent, 73 percent, and 63 percent. Transgender
patients were more likely to be young and Hispanic.
Yehia suggested several factors to
explain the improvement in care and suppression rates among the transgender
individuals, including the great advances in HIV therapy and management and
increased attention from advocates and groups on identifying people quickly, linking
them to care, and starting earlier treatment. Another factor is the increased
focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health in general, such
as the interest among federal institutions and national organizations on the
importance of improving health of LGBT populations by understanding and
addressing their healthcare needs.
The full study, “Retention in Care
and Health Outcomes of Transgender Persons Living with HIV,” was published
online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (2013; doi:
10.1093/cid/cit363).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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