CHILDREN OF HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-INFECTED MEMBERS OF THE ARMYRESERVE COMPONENTS

Objectives: Little is known about the numbers of children who will be left without one or both parents because of human immunodeficiency vir us (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This report evaluates chi ldbearing patterns among U.S. Army reserve component members, a group largely made up of men with limited contact with the military, Methods : HIV status was determined from routinely collected data, with demogr aphic information obtained from personnel records. Number of children was estimated from number of dependents reported, No information was a vailable on the infection status of children or spouses of members, Re sults: There were 1,884 HIV-positive members, with an estimated total of 843 children. Childbearing patterns varied across several demograph ic characteristics, Among 14 metropolitan statistical areas, the propo rtion reporting any children and the number of children of infected me mbers per 100,000 varied substantially, Conclusions: This report docum ents the numbers of children of HIV-positive adults in this population and provides evidence that certain metropolitan areas will be disprop ortionately affected.