Female gender predicts lower access and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in a setting of free healthcare

BMC Infectious Diseases

Table 3 Multivariate GEE*^ϕ analysis of sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical factors associated with ≥ 95% ART adherence.

Variable	OR	(95% CI)	p-value
Gender
(Female vs. Male)	0.70	(0.53-0.93)	0.013
Age
(<24 yrs vs. ≥ 24 yrs)	0.27	(0.13-0.57)	<0.001
Heroin use*
(Daily vs. not daily)	0.56	(0.43-0.73)	<0.001
Cocaine use*
(Daily vs. not daily)	0.57	(0.47-0.71)	<0.001
Methadone treatment
(Yes vs. no)	2.35	(1.88-2.94)	<0.001
Education
(less than highschool vs. other)	0.65	(0.43-0.98)	0.04
Viral load
(per log₁₀copies/mL)	0.81	(0.68-0.97)	0.018
CD4+ count
(per 100 cells/mm³)	0.89	(0.84-0.94)	<0.001

*Refers to the previous six-month period. ^†Defined as drug treatment other than methadone in the past six months. ^ϕGEE = Generalized Estimating Equation.

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