Men with HIV are more likely to be prescribed dolutegravir than women

Women are much less likely to be prescribed the highly-effective HIV antiretroviral, dolutegravir (DTG), than men according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The study, led by Dr Matthew Romo, reviewed the medical records of 134,672 patients from 11 low and middle income countries. The study looked at men and women aged from 16 to 49 years old, as well as those aged 50 plus.

Dolutegravir prescribing data broken down by age group the data showed:

• 16 to 29: 14% of women received dolutegravir compared to 54% of men
• 30 to 39: 21% of women received dolutegravir compared to 57% of men
• No significant difference was found men and women aged 50 years or above

Analysis of the data also showed that efavirenz (EFV) containing regimens were more frequently prescribed to women aged 16 to 49 (60%) whilst dolutegravir containing regimens were more likely to be prescribed to men in the same age range (62%).

In July 2019 the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its guidelines and recommended dolutegravir for the treatment of HIV in all adults and adolescents. However, for every 100 men prescribed dolutegravir only 51 women received the same.

The US also updated their guidelines at the end of 2021 and now recommends dolutegravir as the preferred treatment for pregnant women.

The integrase inhibitor, dolutegravir, is highly effective, safe and well tolerated. Some researchers believe that this disparity in HIV prescribing may be impacting women’s HIV treatment outcomes.