Which patient characteristics among cocaine users with HIV relate to cocaine use and ART adherence outcomes following a dual-focused intervention?

This is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial of dually-focused interventions for nonadherent HIV patients with cocaine use disorders (Ingersoll et al. in Drug Alcohol Depend 116(1–3):177–187, 2011). We examined the relationships among baseline demographic, psychological, psychiatric, and behavioral characteristics and 6-months post-study ART adherence, log viral load (VL), ASI Drug Composite Score, and days using cocaine. We used the SAS GLMSELECT procedure to build multivariate models of each post-study outcome. Post-study ART adherence was related to 2 psychological variables; while logVL was related to 2 drug-related behaviors. ASI Drug Composite score was related to 2 psychiatric disorders, 1 demographic, and 1 psychological variable; in contrast, days using cocaine related to 1 behavioral and 3 psychological variables. Analyses show clear, robust relationships among behavioral, psychological and psychiatric diagnosis factors with post-study ART adherence and cocaine use outcomes. Future ART adherence interventions for cocaine users should consider tailoring to these patient characteristics.