title: Association between living with children and adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this work was to evaluate whether living with children adversely affects adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a prospective cohort study between October 1998 and September 2005. The study outcome was > or = 95% adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy evaluated at 5832 semiannual visits among 1366 HIV-infected women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study. The primary exposure defined at the visit immediately before outcome ascertainment was the number of children < or = 18 years of age reported living in the household.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of women who reported > or = 2 children in the household who also reported > or = 95% adherence ranged from 68% to 75% compared with adherence when either 1 child or no children were reported. Each additional child reported living in the household was associated with a 6% decrease in the odds of > or = 95% adherence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The impact of living with a child on the ability to take medications by HIV-infected women has not been examined thoroughly. Our data suggest that adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy is inversely associated with the number of children living in the household.
authors.affiliation: Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine, 417 Kober Cogan Hall, 3800 Reservoir Rd, NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA. djm23@georgetown.edu
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Merenstein
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robison
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gandhi
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Plankey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016487:Parenting; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents