Integrated stepped alcohol treatment for patients with HIV and at-risk alcohol use: a randomized trial

Table 1 Participant baseline demographic and clinical characteristics

Characteristic	No. (%)		p value
Characteristic	Integrated stepped alcohol treatment (n = 47)	Treatment as usual (n = 46)	p value
Men	44 (93.6)	45 (97.8)	0.62
Race			1.00
White	9 (19.2)	9 (19.6)
Black	37 (78.7)	36 (78.3)
Other	1 (2.1)	1 (2.2)
Hispanic	2 (4.4)	4 (8.7)	0.43
Age, mean (SD), y	59.1 (9.6)	56.5 (9.8)	0.19
Education			0.94
High school or less	17 (36.2)	17 (37.0)
> High school	30 (63.8)	29 (63.0)
Married or domestic partner	11 (23.4)	7 (15.2)	0.85
Employment status^a			0.90
Employed	17 (36.2)	19 (41.3)
Retired/disability	21 (44.7)	19 (41.3)
Unemployed or unable to work	8 (17.0)	7 (15.2)
Controlled environment	1 (2.1)	0 (0)
Student	0 (0)	1 (2.2)
AUDIT-C score, mean (SD)^b	5.45 (2.26)	5.50 (2.38)	0.91
Other substance use, past 30 days^c
Smoke cigarettes	24 (51.1)	19 (43.2)	0.45
Cannabis	9 (19.2)	11 (23.9)	0.58
Cocaine	2 (4.3)	3 (6.5)	0.68
Heroin	0 (0)	0 (0)	NA
Prescription opioids	1 (2.1)	3 (6.5)	0.36
Comorbid conditions and biomarkers
Hepatitis C co-infection^d	12 (25.5)	13 (28.3)	0.77
FIB-4 score > 1.45^{e, f}	36 (76.6)	32 (69.6)	0.44
Depressive symptoms^g	7 (14.9)	7 (15.2)	0.97
HIV related measures
VACS Index, median (range)^f,h	33 (0,93)	28 (6,68)	0.34
Detectable HIV viral load^f,i	17 (36.2)	15 (32.6)	0.72
CD4 cell count, cells/mm³, median (range)^f	542 (112,1427)	537 (109,1255)	0.91

^aEmployment status, employment during past 3 years: assessed based on the Addiction Severity Index Lite-CF[54]
^bAlcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores range from 0 to 12
^cOther substance use, past 30 days: assessed based on item “Do you know smoke cigarettes (as of 1 month ago)?” and the Addiction Severity Index Lite-CF[54]
^dHepatitis C coinfection status—based on positive antibody and detectable HCV RNA viral load
^eFIB-4 score—a noninvasive measure of liver fibrosis calculated based on aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and platelets with scores greater than 1.45 concerning for liver fibrosis
^fLaboratory testing performed within 30 days prior to randomization date
^gDepressive symptoms determined using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 with score > 9 defined as having depressive symptoms[55]
^hVACS index—validated measure of morbidity and mortality risk [40]
ⁱDetectable HIV viral load—defined as ≥ 50 copies/mL

ISSN: 1940-0640