Influence of noninjecting and injecting drug use on mortality, retention in the cohort, and antiretroviral therapy, in participants in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. HIV Medicine
Weber et al. investigated how noninjecting and injecting drug use influenced different outcome parameters among participants in the SHCS. They found that injecting drug use, noninjecting drug use and smoking were significant risks for death. Mortality was mainly driven by non-HIV-associated causes. Drug use lowered adherence, and increased rates of ART change and ART interruptions.
The study results indicate that comprehensive HIV care needs to incorporate interdisciplinary strategies to integrate prevention and treatment of these modifiable risk factors.