Factors associated with incident self-reported AIDS among women enrolled in the women's interagency HIV study (WIHS). WIHS Collaboratorive Study Group.
We evaluated factors associated with incident self-reported AIDS diagnoses among HIV-infected women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). Baseline information included age, race/ethnicity, HIV risk category, site of enrollment, years of education, cigarette smoking, CD4 cell count, and HIV viral load. Baseline and follow-up data on self-reported AIDS were analyzed using chi-square, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox proportional hazard models. Among the 1397 HIV-infected women who reported being free of clinical AIDS at baseline, 335 women (24%) reported an incident AIDS diagnosis during follow-up. In stratified Kaplan-Meier analyses, the development of self-reported AIDS was significantly associated with baseline CD4 cell count and viral load (p<0.01). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses, women were statistically more likely to report AIDS if they had CD4 cell counts below 195 cells/mm3 (p<0.01), HIV RNA >4000 copies/ml (p<0.01), were current smokers (p<0.01), and had "no identifiable risk" for acquisition of HIV (p = 0.03). Self-reports of a clinical AIDS diagnosis may not always be accurate, but laboratory markers of HIV disease indicate that those women who self-report such diagnoses have greater immunodeficiency and a higher viral load when compared with those who report no AIDS-defining diagnoses.
Hessol
N A
NA
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94122, USA. nancyh@itsa.ucsf.edu
Anastos
K
K
Levine
A M
AM
Ameli
N
N
Cohen
M
M
Young
M
M
Augenbraun
M
M
Miotti
P
P
Gange
S J
SJ
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D044469:Racial Groups; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load; D016387:Women's Health
D012367:RNA, Viral