Introduction
death
DISEASE PROGRESSION
Transgender women (TGW) remain a key population within the global HIV pandemic, with estimates that suggest that their risk of acquiring HIV is almost 50 times higher than the rest of the population [Treatment-related factors may also affect the level of adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Complexity of regimen (dosing frequency, pill burden) and presence of side effects are frequent correlates of treatment abandonment [Increasing TGW’s ART adherence and retention is critical for this population’s quality of life and for public health. Evidence demonstrates that provision of HIV treatment, in addition to preventing disease progression and death, greatly reduces transmission to sex partners, an approach known as treatment as prevention (TasP) [We, therefore, hypothesized that a DTG-based treatment would be an effective regimen in ART-naïve, HIV-1-infected TGW. We conducted this 48-week study to determine retention, adherence and viral suppression of TGW treated with DTG plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) coformulated with either emtricitabine (FTC) or lamivudine (3TC) (DTG + TDF-XTC) and to identify clinical and psychosocial factors associated with retention.