Ethnic differences in women with HIV infection in Britain and Ireland. The study group for the mrc collaborative study of HIV infection in women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine ethnic differences in the socio-epidemiological and clinical characteristics of a cohort of women with HIV infection in Britain and Ireland.


METHODS
Analysis of baseline data (ethnic group, sexual history, likely route of HIV infection, reasons for HIV testing and first AIDS-defining disease) from 400 women with HIV infection recruited into a cohort study from 15 genitourinary medicine/HIV clinics in Britain and Ireland.


RESULTS
Sixty-five per cent of women were white and 29% black African. Their median number of lifetime sexual partners was seven and three, respectively (P < 0.001). Ninety-three per cent of black African and 43% of white women were probably infected through sexual intercourse. Injecting drug use was the most likely route of infection in 55% of white women, but none of the black African women. Perceived risk (33%) or investigation of symptoms (26%) were the most common reasons for HIV testing. Seven per cent of white women and 16% of black African women (P < 0.001) had AIDS when HIV infection was diagnosed. The distribution of first AIDS-defining diagnoses differed (P = 0.001) by ethnic group. For white women, the most common disease was Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; for black African women it was pulmonary tuberculosis.


CONCLUSIONS
There are important differences between black African and white women in sexual history and route of transmission, disease stage at diagnosis and pattern of AIDS-defining diseases.
Anderson
J
J
Academic Department of Genitourinary Medicine, UCL Medical School, London, UK.
Melville
R
R
Jeffries
D J
DJ
Norman
J
J
Welch
J
J
Graham
D
D
Fadojutimi
M
M
Forster
G
G
Phillips
M
M
Sampson
K
K
Kitchen
V
V
Wells
C
C
Byrne
G
G
Mercey
D E
DE
Allason-Jones
E
E
Campbell
L
L
French
R
R
Woronowski
H
H
Griffioen
A
A
Stephenson
J M
JM
Phillips
A N
AN
Keenlyside
R
R
Johnson
A M
AM
Barton
S
S
Chard S Harindra
V
V
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004739:England / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000208:ethnology; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012923:Social Class