Incidence of concomitant illnesses in HIV patients

The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of concomitant diseases in HIV patients aged 18 to 40 years. A descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study was carried out in which data were collected from the clinical histories of patients diagnosed with HIV. Eighty-one patients were studied, with the following results: the majority of the population was male (69.1%), 58% were between 29 and 40 years of age, 85% were from urban areas, and most of the patients were unemployed (21%), privately employed (21%), and businessmen (21%). Ninety percent of patients acquired HIV sexually, 73% of patients had heterosexual intercourse, and 37% have a history of sexually transmitted infections. 42% of patients have between 200 and 499 CD4] and the same percentage have less than 1500 copies of virus in each blood cell. Underweight patients represent 42%, and a direct relationship between nutritional status and serological markers was established. 37% of the patients received a diagnosis of HIV in the first year. Thirty-seven percent of patients were diagnosed between 1 and 5 years ago and 34% received HAART for more than 5 years.