Citation
Anglemyer, Andrew; Haber, Noah; Noiman, Adi; Rutherford, George W.; Ganesan, Anuradha; Blaylock, Jason; Okulicz, Jason; Maves, Ryan C.; Lalani, Tahaniyat; & Schofield, Christina, et al. (2020). HIV Care Continuum and Meeting 90-90-90 Targets: Cascade of Care Analyses of a U.S. Military Cohort. Military Medicine, 185(7-8), e1147-54. PMCID: PMC7429920Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The new initiative by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) aims to decrease new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75% within 5 years and 90% within 10 years. Our objective was to evaluate whether the U.S. military provides a good example of the benefits of such policies.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted an analysis of a cohort of 1,405 active duty military personnel with HIV enrolled in the Natural History Study who were diagnosed between 2003 and 2015 at six U.S. military medical centers. The study was approved by institutional review boards at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and each of the sites. We evaluated the impact of Department of Defense (DoD) HIV care policies, including screening, linkage to care, treatment eligibility, and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation on achieving viral suppression (VS) within 3 years of diagnosis. As a secondary outcome, we evaluated the DoD's achievement of UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.
RESULTS: Nearly all (99%) were linked to care within 60 days. Among patients diagnosed in 2003-2009, 77.5% (95% confidence intervals (CI) 73.9-80.6%) became eligible for cART within 3 years of diagnosis, 70.6% (95% CI 66.6-74.1%) overall initiated cART, and 64.2% (95% CI 60.1-68.0%) overall achieved VS. Among patients diagnosed in 2010-2015, 98.7% (95% CI 96.7-99.5%) became eligible for cART within 3 years of diagnosis, 98.5% (95% CI 96.4-99.4%) overall initiated cART, and 89.8% (95% CI 86.0-92.5%) overall achieved VS.
CONCLUSIONS: U.S. military HIV policies have been highly successful in achieving VS goals, exceeding the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. In spite of limitations, including generalizability, this example demonstrates the feasibility of the DHHS initiative to decrease new infections through testing, early treatment, and retention in care.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaa021Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2020Journal Title
Military MedicineAuthor(s)
Anglemyer, AndrewHaber, Noah
Noiman, Adi
Rutherford, George W.
Ganesan, Anuradha
Blaylock, Jason
Okulicz, Jason
Maves, Ryan C.
Lalani, Tahaniyat
Schofield, Christina
Mancuso, James
Agan, Brian K. and The Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program HIV Working Group