Statistical Analysis
AIDS, pre-lockdown, HIV +, UC
AIDS
Participants were enrolled from June 2018 to February 2020. For a given calendar date, they were in different phases of the study. We have both study week and calendar week for each data point. Calendar week was defined as the number of weeks to/since the pandemic lockdown began, March 19, 2020 (ranged from − 93 to 13). Study week corresponded to every four-week appointment (ranged from 0 to 28). We included all data from June 11, 2018 to March 18, 2020 as the pre-lockdown group, and data from March 19, 2020 to October 15, 2020 as the post-lockdown group. Participants completing the 28-week visit before the lockdown were classified “before lockdown,” while those who had at least one study visit after the lockdown were classified as “after lockdown.” Baseline characteristics of study population were compared between the two subgroups within IS arm and UC arm. Two sample t-tests were used to compare continuous variables (age, HIV + years, years under ARV treatment, and baseline VL). Chi-Square test or Fisher exact test were used for categorical variables (gender, race/ethnicity, education, employment, AIDS history, and detectable VL at baseline). Linear mixed models with random intercept and slope (RIAS) were used to estimate the association between the HIV VL and the change in adherence. In the model, we used bimonthly average self-reported adherence, including covariates such as demographics, bimonthly average CD4 count, and other HIV-associated variables (multiple regimens, detectable VL at baseline, years under ARV treatment). The bimonthly average self-reported adherence was calculated as: average adherence at weeks 4 and 8; average adherence at weeks 12 and 16; adherence at week 28.