Stability of the HIV cascade of care throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic in Europe: Results from the multinational EuroSIDA cohort study (2016–2022)
24 affiliations
- 1Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London London UK
- 2Centre of Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infections (CHIP), Rigshospitalet Copenhagen Denmark
- 3Modena HIV Cohort Università degli Studi di Modena Modena Italy
- 4Infectious Diseases Observational Research Unit Medical University of Warsaw Warsaw Poland
- 5Infectious Diseases Service Hospital Clínic‐IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
- 6CIBERINFEC, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid Spain
- 7Reial Academia de Medicina de Catalunya Barcelona Spain
- 8Medical University Innsbruck Innsbruck Austria
- 9Department of Infectious Diseases, First Faculty of Medicine Charles University, University Hospital Bulovka Prague Czechia
- 10Université Paris Cité, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Cochin Paris France
- 11Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Hôtel‐Dieu University Hospital (AP‐HP) Paris France
- 12Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology University Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- 13Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- 14Department of Medicine Karolinska Institute Stockholm Sweden
- 15Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau Barcelona Spain
- 16Clinical Infection Research Group, Western General Hospital Edinburgh UK
- 17Vita‐Salute San Raffaele University Milan Italy
- 18Infectious Diseases IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute Milan Italy
- 19Ospedale San Raffaele Milan Italy
- 20Department of Infectious Diseases Copenhagen University Hospital‐Amager and Hvidovre Hvidovre Denmark
- 21Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
- 22Department of Infectious Diseases, Liver Diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiencies Wroclaw Medical University Wroclaw Poland
- 23Department of Medicine IV University Hospital, LMU Munich Munich Germany
- 24Chelsea and Westminster Hospital London UK
Abstract
Background: Prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage and viral suppression were improving across Europe; however, the impact of the pandemic on HIV care remains uncertain.
Methods: In‐person visits, ART coverage and viral suppression among those on ART were described in the EuroSIDA cohort for each calendar year from 2016 to 2022 and compared across five European regions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with having an in‐person visit and with viral suppression.
Results: Among 6740 participants, 71.9% were men, 34.9% were MSM, and the median age was 50 years (IQR: 42–56) at baseline (2016). The proportion of in‐person visits dropped from 75.0% in 2019 to 67.8% in 2020, increased to 74.5% in 2021 and was 72.3% in 2022. We observed a consistent increase in ART uptake over the years and a slight increase in missing HIV‐RNA data in 2020. The odds of attending clinic in person were lower in 2020 compared with 2016 (aOR: 0.81, 95% CI 0.75–0.87) but not in 2021 or 2022, while viral suppression increased over calendar time (p < 0.0001). Compared to Central‐Western Europe, the other regions had lower odds of in‐person visits (p < 0.0001, most prominently for Southern Europe, aOR: 0.18) and viral suppression (p < 0.0001, most prominently for Eastern Europe, aOR: 0.07).
Conclusions: Our study confirmed the resilience of HIV care across Europe during the COVID‐19 pandemic, whereas the regional and country differences in clinic attendance and viral suppression highlighted the need to address persisting gaps in HIV care on a national level.
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BibTeX
@article{fursa2026stability,
title = {{Stability of the HIV cascade of care throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic in Europe: Results from the multinational EuroSIDA cohort study (2016–2022)}},
author = {Olga Fursa and Wendy Bannister and Giovanni Guaraldi and Justyna Kowalska and Jose M. Miro and Robert Zangerle and David Jilich and Jean‐Paul Viard and Katharina Kusejko and Piotr Nowak and Pere Domingo and Claire Mackintosh and Antonella Castagna and Thomas Benfield and Bartosz Szetela and Johannes Bogner and Marta Boffito and Lars Peters and the EuroSIDA study group},
journal = {HIV Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1111/hiv.70305},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.70305},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Stability of the HIV cascade of care throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic in Europe: Results from the multinational EuroSIDA cohort study (2016–2022)
AU - Olga Fursa
AU - Wendy Bannister
AU - Giovanni Guaraldi
AU - Justyna Kowalska
AU - Jose M. Miro
AU - Robert Zangerle
AU - David Jilich
AU - Jean‐Paul Viard
AU - Katharina Kusejko
AU - Piotr Nowak
AU - Pere Domingo
AU - Claire Mackintosh
AU - Antonella Castagna
AU - Thomas Benfield
AU - Bartosz Szetela
AU - Johannes Bogner
AU - Marta Boffito
AU - Lars Peters
AU - the EuroSIDA study group
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - HIV Medicine
DO - 10.1111/hiv.70305
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.70305
AB - Background: Prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage and viral suppression were improving across Europe; however, the impact of the pandemic on HIV care remains uncertain. Methods: In‐person visits, ART coverage and viral suppression among those on ART were described in the EuroSIDA cohort for each calendar year from 2016 to 2022 and compared across five European regions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with having an in‐person visit and with viral suppression. Results: Among 6740 participants, 71.9% were men, 34.9% were MSM, and the median age was 50 years (IQR: 42–56) at baseline (2016). The proportion of in‐person visits dropped from 75.0% in 2019 to 67.8% in 2020, increased to 74.5% in 2021 and was 72.3% in 2022. We observed a consistent increase in ART uptake over the years and a slight increase in missing HIV‐RNA data in 2020. The odds of attending clinic in person were lower in 2020 compared with 2016 (aOR: 0.81, 95% CI 0.75–0.87) but not in 2021 or 2022, while viral suppression increased over calendar time (p < 0.0001). Compared to Central‐Western Europe, the other regions had lower odds of in‐person visits (p < 0.0001, most prominently for Southern Europe, aOR: 0.18) and viral suppression (p < 0.0001, most prominently for Eastern Europe, aOR: 0.07). Conclusions: Our study confirmed the resilience of HIV care across Europe during the COVID‐19 pandemic, whereas the regional and country differences in clinic attendance and viral suppression highlighted the need to address persisting gaps in HIV care on a national level.
SN - 1464-2662
SN - 1468-1293
ER -