|
African-Americans with HIV are much less likely to adhere to drug therapy than others withthe disease, according to a University of Michigan study. Moreover, untreated depression may greatly hinder adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) forall low-income, HIV-infected patients, regardless of race. The study is the first known to indicate a true racial disparity inantiretroviral therapy adherence, says Rajesh Balkrishnan,associate professor at the University of Michigan School of PublicHealth and the College of Pharmacy. Less than 30 percent ofAfrican-American HIV patients in the one-year study sustainedoptimal adherence to ART, compared to 40 percent of other HIVpatients. "Our results show an alarming disparity in the quality ofpharmaceutical care provided to African-American Medicaid enrollees with HIV," Balkrishnan said. "These enrollees have muchlower adherence rates to ARTs and a 10 percent higher incidence ofdepression." More than 66 percent of the 7,034 HIV-infected patients in thestudy were African-American and nearly half of them reporteddepression. The good news is that antidepressant treatment nearly doubled theodds of optimal ART adherence among patients of all races whoreported depression, Balkrishnan says. Anything greater than 90percent adherence to therapy was considered optimal for purposes ofthe study. For antiretroviral drugs to be effective, patientsshould sustain 90-95 percent adherence to treatment. Balkrishnan's research group set out to examine the possible linkbetween race and ART adherence in low income HIV-infectedpopulations, and whether any racial differences in therapyadherence was further enhanced by depression. Racial disparitiesexist in many aspects of HIV/AIDS, but until now not much was knownabout race and ART adherence, or depression and adherence. Though depression was high among all HIV patients regardless ofrace, depression did not further enhance the already-existingracial disparity in adhering to drug therapy. However, Balkrishnanpointed out that this should be interpreted with caution, sinceevidence has shown that African-Americans are less likely to bediagnosed and treated for depression than whites. Balkrishnan says it's unclear exactly why African-American ARTadherence is lower, but past research shows that African-Americanshave less access to care, have less trust in the health careproviders and are more likely to postpone care than white patients. "The fact that many African-American patients with compromised mental health states have poorer access and use of essential ART therapy pointsout to significant disparities in our health care system, and weneed to take proactive steps to address these gaps," he said. Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Oral Spray Pump , Bottle Dispenser Pump Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Bottle Dispenser Pump today!
Related Articles -
Oral Spray Pump, Bottle Dispenser Pump Manufacturer,
|
