Strong Correlation between Concentrations of Antiretrovirals in Home-Collected and Study-Collected Hair Samples: Implications for Adherence Monitoring.

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT-05:00 - Saberi, Parya; Neilands, Torsten B.; Ming, Kristin; Johnson, Mallory O.; Kuncze, Karen; Koss, Catherine A.; Gandhi, Monica

Social network clustering and the spread of HIV/AIDS among persons who inject drugs in two cities in the Philippines.

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT-05:00 - Verdery, Ashton M.; Siripong, Nalyn; Pence, Brian W.
Εισαγωγή: The Philippines has seen rapid increases in HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs. We study two neighboring cities where a linked HIV epidemic differed in timing of onset and levels of prevalence. In Cebu, prevalence rose rapidly from under 1% to 54% between 2009 and 2011 and remained high through 2013. In nearby Mandaue, HIV remained below 4% through 2011 then rose rapidly to 38% by 2013. Objectives: We hypothesize that infection prevalence differences in these cities may owe to aspects of social network structure, specifically levels of network clustering. Building on prior research, we hypothesize that higher levels of network clustering are associated with greater epidemic potential.
Μέθοδοι: Data were collected with respondent-driven sampling among males who inject drugs in Cebu and Mandaue in 2013. We first examine sample composition using estimators for population means. We then apply new estimators of network clustering in respondent-driven sampling data to examine associations with HIV prevalence.
Αποτελέσματα: Samples in both cities were comparable in terms of composition by age, education, and injection locations. Dyadic needle sharing levels were also similar between the two cities, but network clustering in the needle sharing network differed dramatically. We found higher clustering in Cebu than Mandaue, consistent with expectations that higher clustering is associated with faster epidemic spread.
Συμπέρασμα: This paper is the first to apply estimators of network clustering to empirical respondent-driven samples, and it offers suggestive evidence that researchers should pay greater attention to network structure's role in HIV transmission dynamics. - (C) 2017