title: Factors associated with study attrition among HIV-infected risky drinkers in St. Petersburg, Russia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Participant attrition in HIV longitudinal studies may introduce bias and diminish research quality. The identification of participant characteristics that are predictive of attrition might inform retention strategies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study aimed to identify factors associated with attrition among HIV-infected Russian risky drinkers from the secondary HIV prevention HERMITAGE trial. We examined whether current injection drug use (IDU), binge drinking, depressive symptoms, HIV status nondisclosure, stigma, and lifetime history of incarceration were predictors of study attrition. We also explored effect modification due to gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  Complete loss to follow-up (LTFU), defined as no follow-up visits after baseline, was the primary outcome, and time to first missed visit was the secondary outcome. We used multiple logistic regression models for the primary analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models for the secondary analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 660 participants, 101 (15.3%) did not return after baseline. No significant associations between independent variables and complete LTFU were observed. Current IDU and HIV status nondisclosure were significantly associated with time to first missed visit (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.39; 95% CI, 1.03-1.87; AHR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.03-1.86, respectively). Gender stratified analyses suggested a larger impact of binge drinking among men and history of incarceration among women with time to first missed visit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although no factors were significantly associated with complete LTFU, current IDU and HIV status nondisclosure were significantly associated with time to first missed visit in HIV-infected Russian risky drinkers. An understanding of these predictors may inform retention efforts in longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA Future Without AIDS Foundation, Odessa, Ukraine.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiriazova
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.affiliation: First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blokhina
authors.affiliation: First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation St. Petersburg Bekhterev Research Psychoneurological Institute, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krupitsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lira
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bridden
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California - San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Samet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012426:Russia; D012727:Sex Characteristics
keywords: HIV; IDU; Russia; longitudinalstudies; loss to follow-up