HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Transgender Women: A Subgroup Analysis of the iPrEx Trial

November 2015 in “ The Lancet HIV ”

Madeline B. Deutsch, David V. Glidden, Jae Sevelius, JoAnne Keatley, Vanessa McMahan, Juan V. Guanira, Esper G. Kallas, Suwat Chariyalertsak, Robert M. Grant

transgender women HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP feminizing hormones gender-affirming services HIV prevention gender-affirming care

TLDR PrEP for HIV is less effective in transgender women mainly due to low adherence to the treatment.

In the subgroup analysis of the iPrEx trial with 2,499 participants, 339 (14%) were transgender women. The study aimed to assess the efficacy and adherence of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in this group. Results showed that transgender women had lower PrEP drug exposure and adherence, particularly those at higher risk for HIV. There were 11 HIV infections in the PrEP group and 10 in the placebo group among transgender women, indicating no significant difference in infection rates. The study concluded that while PrEP can be effective for transgender women, adherence is a significant challenge. It also highlighted the need for more research on the interactions between feminizing hormones and PrEP medications and the integration of PrEP with gender-affirming services.

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research HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Transgender Women: A Subgroup Analysis of the iPrEx Trial

210 citations, November 2015 in “The Lancet HIV”

PrEP for HIV is less effective in transgender women mainly due to low adherence to the treatment.