Presentation and reasons for HIV-1 testing in Saudi Arabia

Clinical presentation, CD4+ T lymphocyte count at diagnosis, and reasons for HIV-1 testing reflect the attitudes towards HIV testing and also the ability of the health-care system to diagnose HIV early. In a cross-sectional study from the HIV database in a large HIV-referral centre in Saudi Arabia, all 410 HIV-infected patients were included, 276 men and 134 women. Women were younger at diagnosis (mean age 25.5 compared with 29 years for men, P < 0.04) and had higher CD4+ T lymphocytes (mean 461 for women and 223 for men, P < 0.001). Out of 276 men, 90 (33%) were identified as HIV infected when they presented with AIDS. Fifty-five percent of the infected women were tested for HIV-1 because of contact with an infected person compared with 8% of the infected men, odds ratio (OR) 13.8 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.7-24.9). AIDS remains the main presentation for HIV-infected men. Women are diagnosed earlier and younger than men.