Background
We developed estimates of community viral load (VL) and risk factors for unsuppressed VL from a cross-sectional study of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Vancouver, Canada.
Methods
MSM were recruited from February 25, 2012 – February 28, 2014 using Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS). Participants completed a computer assisted self-interview questionnaire and a nurse-administered point-of-care HIV test. For HIV positive participants, we conducted VL and CD4 cell counts. We used RDS-weighted analysis to obtain population estimates of key variables and multivariable logistic regression to examine factors associated with having a VL ≥200 copies/mL among HIV-positive participants.
Results
We recruited 719 participants, of whom 119 (16.6%) were seeds. Our estimate of the population HIV prevalence was 23.4% (95% CI 15.8 – 31.0%) after RDS-adjustments. We estimated that 18.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.8 – 30.4%) of HIV-positive MSM in Vancouver had a VL ≥200 copies/mL. Having an unsuppressed VL was associated with non-Caucasian ethnicity (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 4.34; 95% CI 1.67 – 11.1); an annual income of <$15,000 CAD (AOR=6.43; 95%CI 2.08–19.9); using GHB in the previous six months (AOR=4.85; 95%CI 1.79–13.2); unprotected anal intercourse with a known HIV negative or unknown serostatus partner (AOR=3.13; 95%CI 1.10–8.90); and disclosing one’s HIV serostatus ≥50% of the time (AOR=7.04; 95%CI 1.01–49.1).
Conclusion
Despite a high prevalence of HIV, we estimated that a small proportion of HIV positive MSM have undiagnosed HIV and unsuppressed VL. Our results highlight the importance of continued work to address health inequities using a social determinants of health framework.