Murders and HIV

Investigators have dismissed the previously reported HIV diagnosis links in two prominent homicide cases. Serial murderer Andrew Cunanan, who shot renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace and four other men, was thought to have killed out of rage because his own life was doomed by HIV. Tests conducted during Cunanan's autopsy revealed that he was not HIV-positive. Darnell McGee, who was HIV-positive, had unprotected sex with more than 100 women and girls and did not inform them of his HIV-status. McGee infected at least 30 women with HIV through unprotected sex. When McGee was found murdered in St. Louis, MO, police suspected that the motive was revenge for intentional HIV transmission. It was later determined that McGee was the victim of a street robbery.     

Tobacco and HIV

The risks to an HIV-infected person who smokes are dramatically amplified compared with the general population. Smoking has been shown to be an independent risk factor for non-AIDS-related mortality in patients who have HIV, even in patients who receive highly active antiretroviral therapy. It has been independently associated with lower scores for quality-of-life indices, such as general health perception, physical functioning, bodily pain, energy, and cognitive functioning. Over time, considering the significant pathology elicited by tobacco, it is hoped that smoking cessation will help reduce the risks of lung disease, heart disease, and neoplastic conditions in patients who have HIV and increase their general sense of well-being.     

HIV and employment

According to 2009 statistics, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected an estimated 86,500 individuals within the UK, although around one-quarter were unaware of their infection. In the majority of cases, it is now considered a long-term controllable but incurable infection. Indeed, most HIV-positive individuals are able to work. Employment is across most, if not all, workforce sectors and protection against workplace discrimination is provided by the Equality Act 2010. Issues including confidentiality, workplace adjustments, vaccinations and travel restrictions may be relevant to the occupational health of HIV-positive workers. There are special considerations concerning HIV-infected health care workers, including avoidance of performing exposure-prone procedures. Prevention of HIV acquisition in the workplace is relevant to a diverse range of occupational environments, and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis should be considered after potential HIV exposure incidents. If a worker contracts HIV by occupational means, financial help may be available.     

HIV and adolescents

Seroprevalence studies and documented sex and drug use risk behaviors indicate the importance of primary prevention programs for HIV among adolescents. Females and minority adolescents are at particular risk. Prevention workers must decide which strategies to advocate: abstinence, monogamy, HIV testing, screening partners, or explicit instruction of safer acts. Youths must be helped to personalize knowledge of HIV, acquire coping skills, and gain access to health care resources. Programs based on cognitive-behavioral models have been initially successfully in reducing risk behaviors, however, there is a need for more community-wide and media interventions. Adolescents' developmental features require that special attention be paid to implementation issues, including parent and peer involvement in the design of prevention programs.This work was supported by Grant 1P50 MH 43520 to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Anke A. Ehrhardt, Director, as well as by a grant from the W. T. Grant Faculty Scholars Award Program. We also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Elizabeth Grace, Clara Haignere, Joyce Hunter, Damien Martin, Alphonso Silverls, and J. St Hill.Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus and Cheryl Kooperman are affiliated with the Division of Psychiatry, Columbia University, the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.     

Women and HIV

HEALTH ISSUE: The epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developed countries has changed from the early epidemic that affected primarily men who have sex with men, to one that increasingly affects other groups such as injecting drug users (IDU) and heterosexuals. As a result, the number and percentage of women with HIV and AIDS is increasing. KEY FINDINGS: The number of women in Canada living with HIV, including those with AIDS, has increased over time. An estimated 6,800 women were living with HIV at the end of 1999, an increase of 48.0 % from the 1996 estimate of 4,600. On an annual basis, women account for a growing proportion of positive HIV test reports among adults in Canada. This proportion increased from 10.7% in the period 1985-95 to 25% in 2001. Heterosexual contact is the main risk factor for HIV infection in women, accounting for 63% of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection in adult Canadian women in 2001; the majority of the remainder is due to IDU. KEY DATA GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Research is needed to address specific information gaps regarding risk behaviours, testing patterns and HIV incidence and prevalence in women. This research needs to include the broader contextual factors that influence women's lives and their risk of HIV infection. Programmes and prevention efforts must be gender and age-specific and should target not only individual behaviours, but also the social and cultural context in which these behaviours occur.     

HIV discrimination and the health of women living with HIV

Women living with HIV are especially vulnerable to discrimination because of the stigma associated with the disease, as well as their race, gender and class status. To investigate the association between self-reported HIV discrimination and health outcomes among African- American and white women living with HIV, 366 women living with HIV were recruited from HIV/AIDS clinics in Georgia and Alabama. In this cross-sectional study, participants completed an interview that assessed self-reported HIV discrimination and depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, self-esteem, stress, quality of life, sexual health and HIV/AIDS related health care seeking. Nearly a sixth of the sample reported experiencing HIV discrimination. Women reporting HIV discrimination had higher mean scores for stress, suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, number of unprotected sexual episodes; they had lower mean scores for self-esteem, and quality of life, and were more likely to have not sought medical care for HIV/AIDS. In race-specific analyses, none of the relationships between HIV discrimination and health outcomes were significant for white women. African-American women who reported HIV discrimination had higher mean scores for stress, suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, number of unprotected sexual episodes; they had lower mean scores for self-esteem, and quality of life, and were more likely not to have sought medical care for HIV/AIDS. The findings indicated that HIV discrimination adversely affects women's mental, sexual and physical health. However, separate race-specific analyses indicated that compared to white women, African-American women were markedly more likely to experience the adverse affects of HIV discrimination. Eradication of HIV discrimination remains an important public health priority.     

HIV Discrimination and the Health of Women Living with HIV

ABSTRACT

Women living with HIV are especially vulnerable to discrimination because of the stigma associated with the disease, as well as their race, gender and class status. To investigate the association between self-reported HIV discrimination and health outcomes among African-American and white women living with HIV, 366 women living with HIV were recruited from HIV/AIDS clinics in Georgia and Alabama. In this cross-sectional study, participants completed an interview that assessed self-reported HIV discrimination and depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, self-esteem, stress, quality of life, sexual health and HIV/AIDS related health care seeking. Nearly a sixth of the sample reported experiencing HIV discrimination. Women reporting HIV discrimination had higher mean scores for stress, suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, number of unprotected sexual episodes; they had lower mean scores for self-esteem, and quality of life, and were more likely to have not sought medical care for HIV/AIDS. In race-specific analyses, none of the relationships between HIV discrimination and health outcomes were significant for white women. African-American women who reported HIV discrimination had higher mean scores for stress, suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, number of unprotected sexual episodes; they had lower mean scores for self-esteem, and quality of life, and were more likely not to have sought medical care for HIV/AIDS. The findings indicated that HIV discrimination adversely affects women's mental, sexual and physical health. However, separate race-specific analyses indicated that compared to white women, African-American women were markedly more likely to experience the adverse affects of HIV discrimination. Eradication of HIV discrimination remains an important public health priority.     

HIV infection and malnutrition

Weight loss, anorexia, metabolic disorder and malabsorption are leading symptoms of HIV infection. Recent data help us to understand wasting as being intrinsically linked to immunodysregulation and enteropathy. In therapy, the role played by anabolic steroids and growth hormone has been newly defined. The new antiviral drugs may efficiently prevent clinical progression, including wasting. New metabolic side effects have, however, been encountered.     

Aging and HIV Infection

With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in mid-1995, the prognosis for HIV-infected individuals has brightened dramatically. However, the conjunction of potent antiviral therapy and longer life expectancy may engender a variety of health risks that, heretofore, HIV specialists have not had to confront. The long-term effects of HIV infection itself and exposure to antiretroviral agents is unknown. Several aspects of aging, including psychiatric disease, neurocognitive impairment, and metabolic and hormonal disorders, may be influenced by chronic exposure to HIV and/or HIV therapeutics. In this paper, we discuss the health issues confronting HIV-infected older adults and areas for future research. Dr. Klein and Dr. Schoenbaun are with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and The AIDS Research Program, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; Dr. Anastos is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; Dr. Minkoff is with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY; Dr. Sacks is with the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.     

肺结核与艾滋病病毒

人类免疫缺陷病毒 (ＨＩＶ)感染是肺结核 (ＴＢ)发展的一个主要危险因素。从上个世纪 80年代中期起 ,报道案例的增长归纳起来一部分是肺结核发生在导致艾滋病的ＨＩＶ感染人群。艾滋病掠夺人体对感染的天然的抵抗力 ,导致有艾滋病的人群更容易发生肺结核。肺结核是由结核杆菌引起的。在美国约有10 0 0～ 15 0 0万人存在潜伏的肺结核感染。他们没有发病 ,但是携带细菌。 10个感染个体中的 1个将发展成活动性肺结核 ,不论是被激活了的潜伏感染或被新的感染所传染。据评估 ,一个被ＨＩＶ及ＴＢ感染的个体每年有7%～ 10 %的机会发展成为活动性肺…     

Infant feeding and HIV

Mother-to-child HIV transmission is the main cause of HIV infection in children. About two thirds of children infected vertically are infected during pregnancy and around the time of delivery, while the remainder are infected during breast-feeding. Although breast-feeding tends to be the best way to feed infants, substituting breast-feeding can reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission when mothers are HIV-seropositive. However, when breast milk substitutes are used, infants are 5 times more likely to have bacterial infections than are breast-fed infants, even in the context of good hygiene. Where hygiene is poor, artificially fed infants may be 20 times more likely to die from diarrhea than are breast-fed infants. HIV-positive women need information on the risks and benefits of breast-feeding and of the various alternatives, and support in deciding which method is best. Infant feeding options are discussed.