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Abstract Details
Hepatitis C Virus Testing Among Men With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Who Have Sex With Men: Temporal Trends and Racial/Ethnic Disparities
Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Apr 17;8(4):ofaa645. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa645.eCollection 2021 Apr.
Jun Li1, Carl Armon2, Frank J Palella3, Ellen Tedaldi4, Richard M Novak5, Jack Fuhrer6, Gina Simoncini4, Kimberly Carlson2, Kate Buchacz1, HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) Investigators
Collaborators
HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) Investigators:
Jun Li, Kate Buchacz, Marcus D Durham, Cheryl Akridge, Stacey Purinton, Nabil Rayeed, Selom Agbobil-Nuwoaty, Kalliope Chagaris, Kimberly Carlson, Carl Armon, Linda Battalora, Jonathan Mahnken, Frank J Palella, Saira Jahangir, Conor Daniel Flaherty, Patricia Bustamante, John Hammer, Kenneth S Greenberg, Barbara Widick, Rosa Franklin, Douglas J Ward, Troy Thomas, Cheryl Stewart, Jack Fuhrer, Linda Ording-Bauer, Rita Kelly, Jane Esteves, Ellen M Tedaldi, Ramona A Christian, Faye Ruley, Dania Beadle, Princess Davenport, Richard M Novak, Andrea Wendrow, Stockton Mayer, Mia Scott, Billie Thomas, Loraine Van Slyke, Cynthia Mayer, Terry Beitler, Karen Maroney, Denise Franklin
Author information
1Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
2Cerner Corporation, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
3Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
4Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
5University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
6Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
Abstract
Background: National guidelines recommend that sexually active people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) who are men who have sex with men (MSM) be tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection at least annually. Hepatitis C virus testing rates vary by race/ethnicity in the general population, but limited data are available for PWH.
Methods: We analyzed medical records data from MSM in the HIV Outpatient Study at 9 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2019. We excluded observation time after documented past or current HCV infection. We evaluated HCV antibody testing in each calendar year among HCV-seronegative MSM, and we assessed testing correlates by generalized estimating equation analyses.
Results: Of 1829 eligible MSM who were PWH, 1174 (64.2%) were non-Hispanic/Latino white (NHW), 402 (22.0%) non-Hispanic black (NHB), 187 (10.2%) Hispanic/Latino, and 66 (3.6%) of other race/ethnicity. Most were ≥40 years old (68.9%), privately insured (64.5%), with CD4 cell count/mm3 (CD4) ≥350 (77.0%), and with HIV viral load <200 copies/mL (76.9%). During 2011-2019, 1205 (65.9%) had ≥1 HCV antibody test and average annual HCV percentage tested was 30.3% (from 33.8% for NHB to 28.5% for NHW; P < .001). Multivariable factors positively associated (P < .05) with HCV testing included more recent HIV diagnosis, public insurance, lower CD4, prior chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, or hepatitis B virus diagnoses, and elevated liver enzyme levels, but not race/ethnicity.
Conclusions: Although we found no disparities by race/ethnicity in HCV testing, low overall HCV testing rates indicate suboptimal uptake of recommended HCV testing among MSM in HIV care.