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Emerging Disparity in HIV/AIDS Disease Progression and Mortality for Men Who Have Sex with Men, Jiangsu Province, China

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Abstract

Few data exist on HIV disease progression and antiretroviral treatment (ART) impact among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Using data from the national case reporting system from 2004 to 2010, we describe changes in CD4 cell count before and after ART initiation, disease progression, and mortality among MSM in Jiangsu province compared with other persons living with HIV/AIDS. Median CD4 cell count among MSM at HIV diagnosis was 432 and decreased rapidly in 12 months to below the level of heterosexuals (slope: MSM −38.0, heterosexuals −15.5, injection drug users [IDU] −8.0, blood donors −10.5). Among those initiating ART, median CD4 cell count among MSM was 157, yet the increase in count was slower than for other groups (slope: MSM 26.9, heterosexuals 31.9, IDU 29.0, blood donors 35.0). Progression to AIDS was faster among MSM than heterosexuals and IDU. For the present, the mortality rate was lower for MSM compared with heterosexuals and blood donors; however, against a backdrop of more recent infection (ie, MSM had younger age, and 93.8 % were diagnosed after 2008), findings suggest a survival rate for MSM that will fall behind other groups. Improved medical and psychosocial supportive care is needed for this stigmatized population lest disparities become greater.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Jiangsu provincial government through the Jiangsu Province’s Outstanding Medical Academic Leader Program (RC2011087) and by the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (JKRC2011003). Additional support was made available through the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (US National Institute of Mental Health P30 MH06224), the International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies (R25MH064712), and the University of California Berkeley-UCSF AIDS International Training and Research Program (Fogarty International Center, D43TW000003). The authors thank the working group members from HIV/AIDS/STD prevention and control institute in JSCDC, for program implementation and assistance.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Provincial Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China

    Hongjing Yan, Haitao Yang, Jianjun Li, Jinshui Xu, Xiaoyan Liu & Xiaoqin Xu

  2. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Chongyi Wei

  3. San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA, 94114, USA

    Willi McFarland

  4. University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Willi McFarland

Authors
  1. Hongjing Yan
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  2. Haitao Yang
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  3. Jianjun Li
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  4. Chongyi Wei
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  5. Jinshui Xu
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  6. Xiaoyan Liu
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  7. Xiaoqin Xu
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  8. Willi McFarland
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Willi McFarland.

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Yan, H., Yang, H., Li, J. et al. Emerging Disparity in HIV/AIDS Disease Progression and Mortality for Men Who Have Sex with Men, Jiangsu Province, China. AIDS Behav 18 (Suppl 1), 5–10 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0520-2

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