Abstract:ObjectiveAdherence to antiretroviral therapy in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) directly impacts treatment outcomes. This study aims to explore the factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients, providing a scientific basis for developing interventions to improve adherence.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted with 418 AIDS patients who received antiretroviral therapy at a designated hospital in the Hunan Xiangjiang New District from January 2020 to January 2024. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy was assessed based on the percentage of prescribed doses taken on time (within 2 hours) during the week prior to the study. The study analyzed the factors related to antiretroviral therapy adherence and used multivariate logistic regression to identify risk factors for poor adherence.ResultsAmong the 418 AIDS patients, 81 had poor adherence, while 337 had good adherence. There were statistically significant differences between the poor and good adherence groups in terms of education level, anxiety, knowledge of basic AIDS information, time from diagnosis to treatment initiation, treatment regimen (number of combined drugs), and adverse drug reactions (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that factors such as education level of junior high school or below [odds ratio (OR)=1.090], borderline/significant anxiety (OR=1.087), lack of basic AIDS knowledge (OR=1.093), time from diagnosis to treatment initiation of 1 to 256 months (OR=2.757), treatment regimens with three or more drugs (OR=2.942), and adverse reactions (OR=1.099) were independent risk factors for poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients (all P<0.05).ConclusionAdherence to antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients is closely related to education level, anxiety, knowledge of basic AIDS information, time from diagnosis to treatment initiation, treatment regimen, and adverse drug reactions. Clinically, targeted prevention strategies should be developed based on these factors to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients.