NATURAL-HISTORY OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY -VIRUS INFECTION IN A COHORT OF CHILEAN PATIENTS

We characterized clinical manifestations and the risk to develop AIDS in a cohort of 32 patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus without AIDS. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine assoc iation between the progression of infection and control variables (soc ioeconomic level, age, sex and sexual preferences) and causal variable s (psycho-social changes, significant clinical events, stress scoring and sexual activity). The cumulative AIDS incidence, defined as a CD4 lymphocyte count below 200 cells/cm(3) was 50% at 6.5 years and 82% at 8 years. Using clinical criteria to define AIDS, 50% developed the di sease at 8 years of follow up. Among studied factors, only age (faster progression at higher age) and time of evolution were associated with progression. In stages before AIDS, the most frequent diseases were a cute diarrhea, sexual transmission diseases, oral candidiasis, sinusit is and varicella zoster infections. The reduction of CD4 lymphocytes b elow 200 cells/cm(3) always preceded the symptoms of the disease. Two patients have remained more than eight years without clinical or immun ological deterioration.