Newsletter
Volume 8, Issue 1
January – March 2021
Check out the current issue of URBAN ARCH News, the quarterly newsletter bringing you news on the latest URBAN ARCH and related research.
URBAN ARCH Contributions to TB Research
In this issue, we interview Gabe Chamie, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine and a faculty member in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-investigator on the Uganda DIPT study.
Click on the buttons to see what the URBAN ARCH Cohorts and Cores have been working on.
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- Bendiks S, Cheng DM, Blokhina E, Vetrova M, Verbitskaya E, Gnatienko N, Bryant K, Krupitsky E, Samet J, Tsui J. Pilot study of tolerability and safety of opioid receptor antagonists as novel therapies for chronic pain among persons living with HIV with past year heavy drinking: a randomized controlled trial. AIDS Care. 2021;1-10.
- Leddy AM, Hahn JA, Getahun M, Emenyonu N, Woolf-King SE, Sanyu N, Katusiime A, Fatch R, Chander G, Hutton HE, Muyindike WR, Camlin C. Cultural adaptation of an intervention to reduce hazardous alcohol use among people living with HIV in southwestern Uganda. AIDS Behav. Feb 2021.
- Metcalfe J, Bacchetti P, Esmail A, Reckers A, Aguilar D, Wen Anita, Huo S, Muyindike W, Hahn JA, Dheda K, Gandhi M, Gerona R. Diagnostic accuracy of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay in small hair samples for rifampin-resistant tuberculosis drug concentrations in a routine care setting. BMC Infect Dis. 2021;21(99). PMCID: PMC7821664
- Vetrova M, Cheng D, Bendiks S, Gnatienko N, Lloyd-Travaglini C, Jiang W, Luoma J, Blokhina E, Krupitsky E, Lioznov D, Ekstrand M, Raj A, Samet J, Lunze K. HIV and substance use stigma, intersectional stigma and healthcare among HIV‑positive PWID in Russia. AIDS Behav. Jan 2021.
Article Spotlight
Is Alcohol Use Associated With Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among People Living With HIV?
Among people living with HIV (PLWH), tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death. Research suggests that people with heavy alcohol use have an increased risk of developing TB, compared with people who abstain from drinking. URBAN ARCH researchers in Uganda recently examined the association between any alcohol use and latent TB infection among PLWH receiving antiretroviral therapy at the Mbarara Regional Hospital HIV clinic. Participants (N=295) were predominantly female (63%) and had alcohol use (63%). Latent TB infection was assessed by skin test.
- Overall, 28% of participants tested positive for latent TB infection.
- Compared with participants who abstained from alcohol use, the odds of testing positive for latent TB infection among people with alcohol use were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.41, 1.41). Analyses were adjusted for gender, age, body mass index, history of smoking, and prior unhealthy alcohol use.
Comments: This study found no association between any alcohol use and latent TB infection in this population of PLWH. However, levels of alcohol consumption were not assessed. Future research should explore whether there is an association between levels of alcohol use and latent TB infection among PLWH.
Reference: Muyindike WR, Fatch R, Cheng DM, et al. Tuberculin skin test positivity among HIV-infected alcohol drinkers on antiretrovirals in south-western Uganda. PLoS One. 2020;15(7):e0235261.
Selected NIH Notices and Funding Opportunities
Click here for more funding announcements related to HIV and alcohol research.
- Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA): Will be held virtually June 19-23, 2021;. Joint with ISBRA.
- College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD): Will be held virtually June 21-24, 2021.
- 11th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2021): July 18-21, 2021; Berlin, Germany/Virtually.
Click here for more events and conferences.