Psychological burden in the era of HAART: impact of selenium therapy.

Objective: To determine the impact of nutritional (selenium) chemoprevention on levels of psychological burden (anxiety, depression, and mood state) in HIV/AIDS.

Method: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled selenium therapy (200 microg/day) trial was conducted in HIV+ drug users from 1998-2000. Psychosocial measures (STAI-State and Trait anxiety, BDI-depression, and POMS- mood state), clinical status (CD4 cell count, viral load), and plasma selenium levels were determined at baseline and compared with measurements obtained at the 12-month evaluation in 63 participants (32 men, 31 women).

Impact of tobacco use on the development of opportunistic respiratory infections in HIV seropositive patients on antiretroviral therapy.

The increased risk of developing lung diseases in cigarette smokers has been well recognized. The association between smoking and the risk of developing pulmonary infections in HIV-1-infected patients, however, which has not been established, was evaluated in the present study. Twenty-seven cases with lower respiratory infections (15 Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), 12 TB cases) were compared with 27 age, gender, socio-economic and HIV status-matched patients, without history of respiratory diseases.

Continued high risk behaviors in HIV infected drug abusers.

To characterize current risk behaviors of HIV drug abusers in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, socio-demographic, medical and behavioral information were obtained and immune measurements determined. High-risk sexual practices were prevalent. Participants diagnosed before 1995 were 6 times more likely to have unprotected sex with HIV+ partners (p = 0.

Evaluation of HIV prevention and counseling practices of obstetrician/gynecologists in Bogota, Colombia: impact on women's knowledge and risk practices.

The present community-based study in Bogotá, Colombia, investigated risk assessment and preventive counseling practices of obstetrician/gynecologists (ob/gyn n = 34) and their impact on women's (n = 230) knowledge and risk behaviors. The data indicate that physician education has a significant and positive impact on women's knowledge and behavior. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, women instructed by their ob/gyn were 11 times more likely to correctly identify preventive measures (p = 0.