Association of state-level PrEP coverage and new HIV diagnoses in the USA from 2012 to 2022: an ecological analysis of the population impact of PrEP.

BACKGROUND

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications are highly efficacious for preventing new HIV infections, but the population impact of PrEP depends on whether prescribed PrEP reaches the people at greatest risk in a population, and adherence and persistence on PrEP over time. We sought to use ecological analysis methods to characterise the impact of PrEP on HIV infections at the population level, complementing data from efficacy trials and programmatic monitoring.

METHODS

We conducted an ecological analysis of US state-level data on PrEP use, HIV viral suppression, and trends in HIV diagnoses in all US states and the District of Columbia by using a nationwide commercial pharmacy database (IQVIA) to calculate PrEP coverage (PrEP users per 100 people with a PrEP indication) and public health surveillance data to document HIV diagnoses from Jan 1, 2012, to Dec 31, 2022, by state and year. States were assigned to quintiles of mean PrEP coverage over the 10-year period, and we calculated quintile-specific changes in HIV diagnoses from 2012 to 2022. We used generalised linear mixed modelling to assess the state-level and national-level associations of PrEP coverage with HIV diagnosis rates, controlling for state-specific viral suppression.

FINDINGS

From 2012 to 2022, mean PrEP coverage across the USA increased dramatically from 0·6% to 26·3%, and HIV diagnosis rates decreased modestly from 13·0 to 10·6 per 100 000 population. Proportionate decreases in HIV diagnoses were higher in states with higher PrEP coverage; a significant inverse dose-response relationship existed between PrEP coverage and HIV diagnoses, in that areas with higher PrEP coverage had progressively larger declines in HIV diagnoses.

INTERPRETATION

Ecological evidence supports the population-level impact of PrEP in the USA and suggests that higher levels of PrEP coverage are associated with larger reductions in HIV diagnoses, even accounting for effects of viral suppression on HIV transmission. To the extent that these relationships are causal, programmes and policies to lower barriers to PrEP use among people with indications are likely to be associated with subsequent population-level declines in new HIV diagnoses.

FUNDING

None.