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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
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Prediction of HIV-1 Coreceptor Usage (Tropism) by Sequence Analysis using a Genotypic Approach
Published on: December 1, 2011
Egocentric network data provide additional information for characterizing an individual's HIV risk profile
André R S Périssé1, Patricia Langenberg, Laura Hungerford
1Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA. aperisse@ensp.fiocruz.br
AIDS (London, England)
|November 12, 2009
Summary
Partner characteristics improve HIV risk assessment for men, but not women. Ego-network analysis offers valuable insights into HIV infection risk for men.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Social Network Analysis
- Public Health
Background:
- Egocentric network structure is crucial for understanding individual infection risk.
- Previous research highlights the importance of social networks in disease transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if partner-specific characteristics enhance individual risk characterization for HIV.
- To evaluate the predictive accuracy of models incorporating individual and partner data versus individual data alone.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 1231 volunteers at an HIV testing site in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Utilized an adapted ego-network questionnaire to collect data on individual risk factors and up to 10 sex partners.
- Employed dyadic data analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves to compare model performance.
Main Results:
- Partner-related variables were significantly associated with HIV serostatus in both men and women.
- A combined model (individual + partner characteristics) improved HIV risk prediction accuracy for men (c-statistic 0.88 vs. 0.82, P=0.03).
- The combined model did not significantly improve prediction accuracy for women (c-statistic 0.78 vs. 0.75, P=0.71).
Conclusions:
- Ego-network theory-based approaches provide significant additional information for characterizing HIV infection risk among men.
- Partner characteristics are important for understanding HIV risk, particularly in men.
- Further research may be needed to explore gender-specific differences in network influence on HIV risk.
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