AUTHOR=Leno Niouma Nestor , Guilavogui Foromo , Camara Alioune , Kadio Kadio Jean-Jacques Olivier , Guilavogui Timothé , Diallo Thierno Saidou , Diallo Mamadou Aliou , Leno Daniel William Athanase , Ricarte Button , Koita Youssouf , Kaba Laye , Ahiatsi Arnold , Touré Nagnouman , Traoré Pascal , Chaloub Souleymane , Kamano André , Vicente Carlos Arias , Delamou Alexandre , Cissé Mohamed 

TITLE=Retention and Predictors of Attrition Among People Living With HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in Guinea: A 13-Year Historical Cohort Study in Nine Large-Volume Sites

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 68 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1605929

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1605929

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Background 
The objective of this study was to estimate the retention rate of patients in ART program and identify the predictors of attrition.
Methods 
This was a historical cohort study of HIV patients who started ART between September 2007 - April 2020, and followed-up for at least 6 months. Kaplan Meier techniques were used to estimate cumulative retention and attrition probabilities. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify predictors of attrition. 
Results 
The cumulative probability of retention at 12- and 24- months was 76.2% and 70.2% respectively. The attrition rate after a median follow-up time of 3.1 years was 35.2%, or an incidence of 11.4 per 100 person-years. Having initiated ART between 2012 - 2015; initiated ART as an adult; unmarried status; initiated ART with CD4 count <100 cells/µl; having initiated ART at an advanced clinical stage were factors significantly associated with attrition. 
Conclusion
The retention rate in our study is much lower than the proposed national target (90%). Studies to understand the reasons for lost-to-follow up are needed.