Evolution of patients' socio-behavioral characteristics in the context of DAA: Results from the French ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH cohort of HIV-HCV co-infected patients

{Background Direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have dramatically increased HCV cure rates with minimal toxicity in HIV-HCV co-infected patients. This study aimed to compare the socio-behavioral characteristics of patients initiating pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN)-based HCV treatment with those of patients initiating DAA-based treatment. Methods ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH is a national multicenter prospective cohort started in 2005, which enrolled 1,859 HIV-HCV co-infected patients followed up in French hospital outpatient units. Both clinical/biological and socio-behavioral data were collected during follow-up. We selected patients with socio-behavioral data available before HCV treatment initiation. Results A total of 580 patients were included in this analysis. Of these, 347 initiated PEG-IFN-based treatment, and 233 DAA-based treatment. There were significant differences regarding patient mean age (45 years +/- 6 for the PEG-IFN group vs. 52 years +/- 8 for the DAA group, p<0.001), unstable housing (21.4% vs. 11.2%