PrEP discontinuation in a US national cohort of sexual and gender minority populations, 2017–22

Support for PrEP continuation among vulnerable groups is critical

2024-03-04

(Press-News.org) In the U.S., sexual and gender minority populations are disproportionately affected by HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a key prevention method, but its effectiveness relies on consistent usage. While a significant body of research has addressed PreP initiation and adherence, far less attention has been paid to the reasons for and consequences of PrEP discontinuation.

A team of investigators conducted a four-year U.S. national cohort study exploring PrEP discontinuation among sexual and gender minority people who initiated PrEP. “Our cohort was entirely comprised of individuals who met clinical indication for PrEP care but were not on PrEP at the time of enrollment. We provided information about PrEP as well as resources to help participants engage in care and then prospectively followed them for four years, says Christian Grov, Professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) and the study’s principal investigator. “Unfortunately, we observed that need for PrEP remained high, and more alarming, high rates of discontinuation among those who started.”

Overall, they found a high annual rate of discontinuation (35–40 percent) after PrEP initiation. Unsurprisingly, HIV incidence among those who discontinued PrEP was markedly higher than among those who continued its use.

Multivariable analysis with 6,410 person-years identified housing instability and prior history of PrEP discontinuation as predictors of discontinuation. Conversely, older age, clinical indication for PrEP, and having health insurance were associated with ongoing PrEP use. To promote sustained PrEP use, strategies should focus on supporting those at high risk for discontinuation, such as younger people, those without stable housing or health insurance, and prior PrEP discontinuers.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for targeted support to ensure sustained PrEP use, especially social determinants of health such as housing instability and health insurance,” says first author Yan Guo, research scientist at CUNY SPH. “Let's focus on bridging these gaps for better HIV prevention.”

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

USC Study: Medicare Part D plans increased restrictions on drug coverage

2024-03-04

Medicare Part D plans significantly increased restrictions on prescription drugs, excluding more compounds from coverage or subjecting more of them to review before patients could access the treatments, according to a new study from USC researchers. Among drugs not in Medicare “protected classes,” the share of drug compounds restricted or excluded by Part D plans surged from an average of 31.9% in 2011 to 44.4% in 2020, according to the study published in the March 2024 issue of Health Affairs. Brand-name-only compounds (those without a generic alternative) were especially limited, with more ...

Sacituzumab govitecan plus platinum-based chemotherapy in breast, bladder, and lung carcinomas

2024-03-04

“[...] these results support the rationale and potential for favorable clinical outcomes of combining SG therapy with platinum-based chemotherapeutics in solid tumors.” BUFFALO, NY- March 4, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on February 22, 2024, entitled, “Sacituzumab govitecan plus platinum-based chemotherapy mediates significant antitumor effects in triple-negative breast, urinary bladder, and small-cell lung carcinomas.” Sacituzumab govitecan (SG) is an antibody-drug conjugate composed of an anti-Trop-2-directed antibody ...

Global study unveils "problematic" use of porn

2024-03-04

A major international study led by a Canadian psychologist sheds light on a hidden phenomenon: how problematic use of pornography is affecting people in different parts of the world, across various genders and sexual orientations. Published in the journal Addiction, the research stands out because, among the 82,000 people in 42 countries studied, it looks at groups that were often overlooked in the past, including women and individuals who don't fit traditional gender categories. In their findings, largely based on ...

Newly discovered protein prevents DNA triplication

2024-03-04

This is a natural 'anti-failure' mechanism in the DNA copying process, hitherto unknown. The DNA molecule is copied each time a cell divides. If, instead of being copied once, the DNA is copied several times, i.e. tripled or even quadrupled, the likelihood of cancer increases.. The new discovered anti-failure system relies on a protein called RAD51 to prevent DNA that has already been copied from being copied again. Every time a cell divides, its DNA is duplicated so that the two daughter cells have the same genetic material as their parent. This means that millions of times a day ...

Less ice in the arctic ocean has complex effects on marine ecosystems and ocean productivity

2024-03-04

Over the past 25 years, the amount of summer Arctic sea ice has diminished by more than 1 million square kilometers. As a result, vast areas of the Arctic Ocean are now, on average, ice free in summer. Scientists are closely monitoring how this impacts sunlight availability and marine ecosystems in the far north. “Many questions arise when such large areas become ice-free and can receive sunlight. A prevailing paradigm suggests that the Arctic Ocean is rapidly becoming more productive as sunlight becomes ...

Antarctica’s coasts are becoming less icy

2024-03-04

EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 4, 2024 AT 3:00PM U.S EASTERN TIME An increase in pockets of open water in Antarctica’s sea ice (polynyas) may mean coastal plants and animals could one day establish on the continent, University of Otago-led research suggests. The research, published in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, aimed at understanding where open water might allow coastal species to settle in the future. Led by Research Fellow Dr Grant Duffy from Otago’s Department ...

New research shows migrating animals learn by experience

2024-03-04

THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 4, 2024, at 3:00 PM U.S. EASTERN TIME. Research led by scientists from University of Wyoming and Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior shows that migrating animals refine their behavior as they get older, suggesting that experiential learning is an important part of successful migration. While genetics and social behavior are important factors shaping animal migrations, information gained through individual experience also appears to help shape migratory movements, says a research team led by Ellen Aikens. Aikens, ...

Modeling the origins of life: New evidence for an “RNA World”

2024-03-04

LA JOLLA (March 4, 2024)—Charles Darwin described evolution as "descent with modification." Genetic information in the form of DNA sequences is copied and passed down from one generation to the next. But this process must also be somewhat flexible, allowing slight variations of genes to arise over time and introduce new traits into the population. But how did all of this begin? In the origins of life, long before cells and proteins and DNA, could a similar sort of evolution have taken place on a simpler scale? ...

Scientists put forth a smarter way to protect a smarter grid

2024-03-04

RICHLAND, Wash.—There’s a down side to “smart” devices: They can be hacked. That makes the electric grid, increasingly chock full of devices that interact with one another and make critical decisions, vulnerable to bad actors who might try to turn off the power, damage the system or worse. But smart devices are a big part of our future as the world moves more toward renewable energy and the many new devices to manage it. Already, such tools play a big role in keeping the power humming. The portion of the grid owned by ...

An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making

2024-03-04

Plant genomics has come a long way since Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) helped sequence the first plant genome. But engineering the perfect crop is still, in many ways, a game of chance. Making the same DNA mutation in two different plants doesn’t always give us the crop traits we want. The question is why not? CSHL plant biologists just dug up a reason. CSHL Professor and HHMI Investigator Zachary Lippman and his team discovered that tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana plants can use very different regulatory systems to control the same exact ...

TF-rs1049296 C>T variant modifies the association between hepatic iron stores and liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

ASH publishes clinical practice guidelines on diagnosis of light chain amyloidosis

SLAS receives grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop lab automation educational guidelines

Serum interleukin-8 for differentiating invasive pulmonary aspergillosis from bacterial pneumonia in patients with HBV-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure

PrEP discontinuation in a US national cohort of sexual and gender minority populations, 2017–22

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: