Article Title
Demographic factors associated to survival of HIV/AIDSpatients in southernmost province of Thailand
Abstract
Introduction : HIV/AIDS is a serious public health problem that has globally causedsevere illnesses and deaths within the past two decades. However,a little is known about the impact on demographic factors which ischanged over time.Objective : To investigate the demographic factors associated to survival ofHIV/AIDS patients.Setting : Provincial and community hospitals.Research design : A prospective, hospital-based cohort study.Patients : HIV/AIDS patients registered in both provincial and communityhospitals between January 1992 and April 2010.Methods : In total, 1,575 patients with HIV/AIDS infection were observed andfollowed-up in one regional and other six community hospitals, Yalaprovince, Thailand. The outcome was timed from diagnosis of HIV/AIDS infection to death. Cox’s proportional hazard model was usedto analyze and investigate the association between demographicfactors and death among HIV/AIDS patients.Results : The median survival time among the HIV/AIDS patients fromdiagnosis to death was 46.6 months (95%CI: 46.2 to 46.9 months).Statistically a significant corresponding risk of time from HIV/AIDSdiagnosis to death was found among HIV/AIDS patients. Primarily,patients who were employees had double the chance to die (HR:1.66; 95%CI: 1.05 to 2.62). In contrast, patients with complementarycare were more likely to have longer life by about 53% (0.47; 0.28 to0.76). Regarding the in-patients, they were 9 times more likely todie (8.94; 5.47 to 14.60). Patients who had heterosexual behavioralso had double risk of death (1.86; 1.32 to 2.63). Finally, those whowere at risk of infection by their sexual behaviors had doublethe chance to die (1.98; 1.12 to 3.48).Conclusion : An association between demographic factors and survival time fromHIV/AIDS diagnosis to death among patients with HIV/AIDS infectionwas found. the factors are namely: employment, complementarycare, type of patient, sexual behavior, and risk of infection.
Publisher
Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
First Page
355
Last Page
366
Recommended Citation
Chaimay, B; Woradet, S; and Sukkasem, K.
(2011)
"Demographic factors associated to survival of HIV/AIDSpatients in southernmost province of Thailand,"
Chulalongkorn Medical Journal: Vol. 55:
Iss.
4, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/clmjournal/vol55/iss4/5