Reduction in Gaps in High CD4 Count and Viral Suppression Between Transgender and Cisgender Persons Living With HIV in New York City, 2007-2016.

Objectives. To compare trends in HIV outcomes for cisgender and transgender persons living with HIV (PLWH) in New York City.Methods. We used HIV surveillance data for the analysis. We based CD4 count on the last measurement in a calendar year and defined viral suppression as the last viral load being less than or equal to 200 copies per milliliter in the calendar year.Results. The estimated number of PLWH increased from 73 415 in 2007 to 83 299 in 2016, including 606 transgender persons (0.8%) in 2007 and 1054 transgender persons (1.3%) in 2016. The proportion with CD4 count of 500 cells per cubic millimeter or more increased from 38% in 2007 to 61% in 2016 among cisgender persons versus 32% to 60% among transgender persons. The proportion with a suppressed viral load increased from 52% in 2007 to 80% in 2016 among cisgender persons versus 42% to 73% among transgender persons.Conclusions. Among PLWH in New York City, CD4 count and viral suppression improved during 2007 to 2016, with larger improvements among transgender persons, leading to narrower gaps. However, continuing efforts to improve HIV outcomes among transgender PLWH are needed to further eliminate disparities, particularly in viral suppression.

Test performance and acceptability of self- versus provider-collected swabs for high-risk HPV DNA testing in female-to-male trans masculine patients.

BACKGROUND: High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) causes virtually all cervical cancers. Trans masculine (TM) people (those assigned female at birth who identify with a gender other than female) have low uptake of conventional cervical cancer screening. Self-collected hrHPV DNA testing has high levels of acceptability among cisgender (non-transgender) females and may support increased cervical cancer screening uptake in TM individuals. OBJECTIVE: To assess the test performance and acceptability of self-collected vaginal specimens in comparison to provider-collected cervical swabs for hrHPV DNA detection in TM individuals ages 21-64 years. METHODS: Between March 2015-September 2016, 150 TM participants with a cervix (mean age = 27.5 years; SD = 5.7) completed a one-time study visit comprised of a self-report survey, self-collected vaginal HPV DNA swab, clinician-administered cervical HPV swab, and brief interview on acceptability of clinical procedures. Participants were randomized to complete either self- or provider-collection first to minimize ordering effects. Self- and provider-collected samples were tested for 13 hrHPV DNA types using a DNA Hybridization Assay. The primary outcome variable was the concordance (kappa statistic) and performance (sensitivity, specificity) of self-collected vaginal HPV DNA specimens versus provider-collected cervical HPV swabs as the gold standard. RESULTS: Of the 131 participants completing both the self- and provider-collected HPV tests, 21 cases of hrHPV were detected by the provider cervical swab (gold standard; 16.0% hrHPV prevalence); 15 of these cases were accurately detected by the self-collected vaginal swab (71.4% concordance) (Kappa = 0.75, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.59, 0.92; p<0.001). Compared to the provider-collected cervical hrHPV DNA sample (gold standard), the self-collected vaginal hrHPV DNA test demonstrated a sensitivity of 71.4% (95% CI: 0.52, 0.91; p = 0.0495) and specificity of 98.2% (95% CI: 0.96, 1.00; p<0.0001). Over 90% of participants endorsed a preference for the self-collected vaginal swab over provider-collected cervical swab. CONCLUSION: Self-collected vaginal swabs are highly acceptable to TM as a means to test for hrHPV DNA. Test performance of this self-collection method for hrHPV detection in TM is consistent with previous studies in cisgender females. Self-collected vaginal swab testing for hrHPV DNA represents a reasonable and patient-centered strategy for primary cervical cancer screening in TM patients unwilling to undergo provider collection of specimens via speculum exam.