The impact of gender and the social determinants of health on the clinical course of people living with HIV in Myanmar: an observational study

BACKGROUND: There is a growing recognition of the impact of gender and the social determinants of health on the clinical course of people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, the relative contribution of these factors to clinical outcomes of PLHIV is incompletely defined in many countries. This study was performed to gain a greater understanding of the non-clinical determinants of prognosis of PLHIV in Myanmar. METHODS: Selected demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic characteristics of outpatients at two specialist HIV hospitals and one general hospital in Yangon, Myanmar were correlated with their subsequent clinical course; a poor outcome was defined as death, hospitalisation, loss to follow-up or a detectable viral load at 6 months of follow-up. RESULTS: 221 consecutive individuals with advanced HIV commencing anti-retroviral therapy (ART) were enrolled in the study; their median CD4 T-cell count was 92 (44–158) cells/mm(3), 138 (62.4%) were male. Socioeconomic disadvantage was common: the median (interquartile range (IQR) monthly per-capita income in the cohort was US$48 (31–77); 153 (69.9%) had not completed high school. However, in a multivariate analysis that considered demographic, behavioural, clinical factors and social determinants of health, male gender was the only predictor of a poor outcome: odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.33 (1.26–4.32, p = 0.007). All eight of the deaths and hospitalisations in the cohort occurred in males (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Men starting ART in Myanmar have a poorer prognosis than women. Expanded implementation of gender-specific management strategies is likely to be necessary to improve outcomes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12981-021-00364-w.