SCIENCE FILE: An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment. : Access to Care Key Determinant in HIV Progression, Study Finds

Contrary to some previous reports, race, sex and socioeconomic factors do not directly affect the progression of HIV infection to AIDS and eventual death, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. The key determinant in survival, they report in the New England Journal of Medicine, is access to medical care.

The Hopkins team studied 1,372 HIV-positive patients who received care at the institution. About 77% of the patients were African American and 21% were Caucasian. Thirty percent were women. The team found that there were no differences in survival among demographic groups, and that the type of insurance, use of injection drugs, housing status and level of education were all irrelevant to outcome.

They did find, however, that black males, women and injected-drug abusers were less likely to have received appropriate care before being referred to Hopkins.