RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Determinants of adherence to daily PrEP measured as intracellular tenofovir diphosphate concentrations over 24 months of follow-up among men who have sex with men
JF Sexually Transmitted Infections
JO Sex Transm Infect
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP sextrans-2022-055499
DO 10.1136/sextrans-2022-055499
A1 Mark AM van den Elshout
A1 Elske Hoornenborg
A1 Liza Coyer
A1 Peter L Anderson
A1 Udi Davidovich
A1 Henry JC de Vries
A1 Maria Prins
A1 Maarten F Schim van der Loeff
A1 ,
YR 2022
UL http://sti.bmj.com/content/early/2022/09/05/sextrans-2022-055499.abstract
AB Objectives Adherence is key to the effectiveness of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. Therefore, we aimed to explore factors associated with adherence to daily PrEP (dPrEP).Methods Men who have sex with men (MSM) using dPrEP (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil) within the Amsterdam PrEP demonstration project at the Public Health Service of Amsterdam, provided dried blood spots (DBS) 12 and 24 months after PrEP initiation. From DBS, we determined intracellular tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) concentrations to assess adherence; TFV-DP ≥700 fmol/punch was considered adequate. We assessed associations of sociodemographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics with TFV-DP concentrations using multivariable linear regression.Results Of 263 participants who attended 12-month or 24-month study visits while on dPrEP, 257 (97.7%) provided DBS at one or both visits (492 DBS in total). Median TFV-DP concentration was 1299 (IQR 1021–1627) fmol/punch (12 months: 1332 (1087–1687); 24 months: 1248 (929–1590]). Higher TFV-DP concentrations were associated with: older age (p=0.0008), condomless anal sex with a casual partner in 6 months preceding PrEP initiation (+166 fmol/punch; 95% CI 36.5 to 296) and using a mobile application providing visualised feedback on PrEP use and sexual behaviour (+146 fmol/punch; 95% CI 28.1 to 263). Lower TFV-DP concentrations were associated with longer duration of PrEP use (24 vs 12 months; −91.5 fmol/punch; 95% CI −155 to −28.1). Time-updated number of sex partners, diagnosed STIs and chemsex were not associated with TFV-DP concentrations.Conclusions Overall, TFV-DP concentrations were high among MSM using dPrEP, indicating excellent adherence. Especially older participants, those who reported condomless anal sex with a casual partner prior to PrEP initiation and those who used an app with visualised feedback showed higher levels of adherence. As TFV-DP concentrations had decreased slightly at 2 years of PrEP use when compared with 1 year, we emphasise the importance of adherence counselling to those who continue using PrEP.Trial registration number NL5413.Data are available on reasonable request. The AMPrEP data are owned by the Public Health Service of Amsterdam. Original data can be requested by submitting a study proposal to the steering committee of AMPrEP. The proposal format can be obtained from amprep@ggd.amsterdam.nl. Request for further information can also be submitted through the same email address. The AMPrEP steering committee verifies each proposal for compatibility with general objectives, ethical approval and informed consent forms of the AMPrEP study and potential overlap with ongoing studies. There are no restrictions to obtaining the data and all data requests will be processed in a similar way.