Evaluating the Sick Quitting Hypothesis for Frailty Status and Reducing Alcohol Use Among People With HIV in a Longitudinal Clinical Cohort Study

Stephanie A Ruderman; Lydia N Drumright; Joseph A C Delaney; Allison R Webel; Annette L Fitzpatrick; Bridget M Whitney; Robin M Nance; Andrew W Hahn; Jimmy Ma; L Sarah Mixson; Sherif Eltonsy; Amanda L Willig; Kenneth H Mayer; Sonia Napravnik; Meredith Greene; Mary McCaul; Edward Cachay; Stephen B Kritchevsky; Steven N Austad; Alan Landay; Michael S Saag; Mari M Kitahata; Bryan Lau; Catherine Lesko; Geetanjali Chander; Heidi M Crane; Michelle C Odden

doi:10.1097/JNC.0000000000000441

Evaluating the Sick Quitting Hypothesis for Frailty Status and Reducing Alcohol Use Among People With HIV in a Longitudinal Clinical Cohort Study

J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2024 Jan-Feb;35(1):5-16. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000441.

Affiliation

¹ Stephanie A. Ruderman, PhD, MPH, is a Research Scientist, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Lydia N. Drumright, PhD, MPH, is a Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Joseph A. C. Delaney, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Allison R. Webel, RN, PhD, is an Associate Dean for Research, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Annette L. Fitzpatrick, PhD, is a Research Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Bridget M. Whitney, PhD, MPH, is a Senior Research Scientist, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Robin M. Nance, PhD, is a Research Scientist, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Andrew W. Hahn, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Jimmy Ma, MD, is an Infectious Disease Specialist, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. L. Sarah Mixson, MPH, is a Research Scientist, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Sherif Eltonsy, PhD, is an Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Amanda L Willig, PhD, RD, is an Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Kenneth H. Mayer, MD, is a Professor, Harvard Medical School, Fenway Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Sonia Napravnik, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. Meredith Greene, MD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA. Mary McCaul, PhD, is a Professor, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Edward Cachay, MD, is a Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA. Stephen B. Kritchevsky, PhD, is a Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. Steven N. Austad, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor, Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Alan Landay, PhD, is a Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Michael S. Saag, MD, is a Professor and Associate Dean, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Mari M. Kitahata, MD, MPH, is a Professor, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Bryan Lau, PhD, is a Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Catherine Lesko, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Geetanjali Chander, MD, MPH, is a Professor, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Heidi M. Crane, MD, MPH, is a Professor, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Michelle C. Odden, PhD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.

PMID: 38150572
DOI: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000441

Abstract

"Sick quitting," a phenomenon describing reductions in alcohol consumption following poor health, may explain observations that alcohol appears protective for frailty risk. We examined associations between frailty and reductions in drinking frequency among people with HIV (PWH). At six Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) sites between January 2012 and August 2021, we assessed whether frailty, measured through validated modified frailty phenotype, precedes reductions in drinking frequency. We associated time-updated frailty with quitting and reducing frequency of any drinking and heavy episodic drinking (HED), adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics in Cox models. Among 5,654 PWH reporting drinking, 60% reported >monthly drinking and 18% reported ≥monthly HED. Over an average of 5.4 years, frail PWH had greater probabilities of quitting (HR: 1.56, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] [1.13-2.15]) and reducing (HR: 1.35, 95% CI [1.13-1.62]) drinking frequency, as well as reducing HED frequency (HR: 1.58, 95% CI [1.20-2.09]) versus robust PWH. Sick quitting likely confounds the association between alcohol use and frailty risk, requiring investigation for control.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology
Cohort Studies
Frailty* / epidemiology
HIV Infections* / epidemiology
Humans
Risk Factors

Evaluating the Sick Quitting Hypothesis for Frailty Status and Reducing Alcohol Use Among People With HIV in a Longitudinal Clinical Cohort Study

Authors

Affiliation

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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