Data source: Ontario HIV Laboratory Cohort
Key points
- Use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) has increased over time, with the percent of people with diagnosed HIV living in Ontario who wereon ART increasing from 55% in 2000 (range: 34 to 60%) to 81% in 2015 (range: 70 to 82%).
- This increase may be due to several factors, including improved access to ART, changes to guidelines to recommend earlier initiation of ART after diagnosis and to warn against treatment interruptions, and interventions to support people to start and remain on ART.
- ART status is documented on viral load (VL) test requisitions by the ordering provider and is missing for 17 to 20% of requisitions. Those with missing data were assumed to be on ART if virally suppressed.
Figures
Figure 1 Number of people with diagnosed HIV living in Ontario who were on ART, 2000 to 2015
Snapshot: The number of people with diagnosed HIV who were on ART increased from 4,880 in 2000 (range: 3,909 to 5,335) to 13,059 in 2015 (range: 12,181 to 13,059). See Table 1 below for data and definitions.
Figure 2 Percent of people with diagnosed HIV living in Ontario who were on ART, 2000 to 2015
Snapshot: The percent of people with diagnosed HIV who were on ART increased from approximately 55% in the early 2000s to 81.1% in 2015 (range: 69.9% to 82.0%). See Table 1 below for data and definitions.
Notes: Solid line represents main estimate and shaded area represents range of estimates.
Tables and definitions
Table 1 Number and percent of people with diagnosed HIV living in Ontario who were on antitretroviral treatment, 2000 to 2015
Estimate of percent on ART | “On ART” definition (numerator) | “Diagnosed” definition (denominator) |
Main | Documented on ART, or ART status missing and suppressed, on last VL test (Main estimate) | Nominal HIV-positive diagnostic test or HIV viral load test, and not administratively lost to follow-up after 2 years (Main estimate) |
Upper | Documented on ART, or ART status missing and suppressed, on any VL test (Upper estimate) | Nominal HIV-positive diagnostic test or HIV viral load test, and not administratively lost to follow-up after 2 years (Main estimate) |
Lower | Documented on ART, or ART status missing and suppressed, on all VL tests (Lower estimate) | Nominal/non-nominal HIV-positive diagnostic test or HIV viral load test, and not administratively lost to follow-up after 3 years (Upper estimate) |
Notes: Data provided by Public Health Ontario Laboratory. ART status is documented on viral load (VL) test requisitions by the ordering provider and is missing for 17 to 20% of requisitions. ART=antiretroviral treatment.