Changing demographics in an HIV-infected population: results from an observational cohort study in Western Denmark.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We present demographic data from an observational database of HIV and AIDS in the Western part of Denmark, a region with a population of 2,935,156 individuals (55.1% of the population of Denmark). Five centers in the region treat HIV-positive adults; all patients attached to these centers since 1995 are included in this study. In total, 749 adult HIV-infected individuals were enrolled as of 31 December, 1999. Estimates of prevalence and incidence of HIV infection in the area were 25.9/100,000 and 2.6/100,000, respectively, which are lower than average for the country. The number of newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients remained constant during the period 1995-99, with an average of 62 diagnoses per year. The number of HIV-related deaths declined from 43 in 1995 to 15 in 1999. Of the enrolled patients, 70.9% were of Danish origin, 75% were Caucasians, 69.7% were male and 47.2% had heterosexual contact as their primary risk behavior. There seems to have been a shift in the HIV epidemic in recent years, with a higher proportion of newly diagnosed HIV patients having contracted the infection through heterosexual contact, a higher proportion being immigrants from less developed countries and newly diagnosed individuals getting older.
Keywords