Socio-ecological Barriers to Viral Suppression Among Transgender Women Living with HIV in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California

Troubling disparities in viral suppression persist among transgender (trans) women living with HIV in the US. We utilized baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention among trans women living with HIV in San Francisco and Los Angeles, to identify the socio-ecological correlates of biologically confirmed viral suppression (< 200 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL). Among 253 participants, the mean age was 43 (SD = 11), 46% identified as Black or African American and 35% were virally non-suppressed. In adjusted Poisson regression models, the following barriers to viral suppression were identified: injection drug use [adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 0.78, 95% CI 0.65–0.93, Z = − 2.64, p = 0.008], methamphetamine use (aRR 0.65, 95% CI 0.51–0.83, Z = − 3.45, p = 0.001), amphetamine use (aRR 0.62, 95% CI 0.44–0.87, Z = − 2.75, p = 0.006), homelessness (aRR 0.79, 95% CI 0.63–0.98, Z = − 2.06, p = 0.039), and sex work (aRR 0.60, 95% CI 0.41–0.86, Z = − 2.77, p = 0.009). These findings underscore the importance of interventions that address the socio-ecological barriers to viral suppression among trans women in urban settings.