Analysis on epidemiological characters and HIV care continuum of HIV-infected students: a retrospective cohort study in Shandong province, China

BACKGROUD: The proportion of HIV-infected students in China showed an increasing trend. This study aimed to identify the epidemiological characteristics and the HIV care continuum for HIV-infected students in Shandong Province, China. METHODS: Case report and follow-up data of HIV-infected students were obtained from the National HIV/AIDS comprehensive response information management system. Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the associating factors of HIV-infected students accepting CD4 + T cells (CD4) test and antiviral therapy (ART) in 30 days, and ArcGIS software was used for the spatial anlysis. RESULTS: From 2017 to 2019, 403 HIV-infected students were reported in Shandong Province. The majority of them were male (99.5%) and transmitted through homosexual sexual activity(92.1%). Most of them lived in Jinan city and Qingdao city. 68.5% (276 cases) accepted CD4 test in 30 days, and 48.6% (196 cases) started ART in 30 days. The heterosexual transmitted cases (AOR = 0.458, 95%CI: 0.210–0.998), patients accepting HIV care in western area (AOR = 0.266,95%CI: 0.147–0.481) were less likely to test CD4 within 30 days; patients aged 23–25 (AOR = 2.316, 95%CI: 1.009–5.316) and patients who had tested CD4 within 30 days (AOR = 4.377; 95%CI: 2.572–7.447) prefered to receive ART within 30 days; patients accepted HIV care in central area (AOR = 0.407; 95%CI: 0.251–0.657) and western area (AOR = 0.508; 95%CI: 0.261–0.989) and patients diagnosed by voluntary blood donation (AOR = 0.352; 95%CI: 0.144–0.864) were less willing to receive ART in 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: The HIV care continuum of HIV-infected students in Shandong Province still needed strenghthing. More health education and case management should be done for cases transmitted through heterosexual behavior, accepted HIV care in central and western area, and diagnosed by voluntary blood donation.