Low T-lymphocyte ratios in homosexual men. Epidemiologic evidence for a transmissible agent

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Abstract
To investigate risk factors for immunologic abnormalities among homosexual men, T lymphocyte helper/suppressor (OKT4/OKT8) ratios were determined in 78 healthy Danish homosexual men. Ratios in 26 men (33%) were low (< 1.00). Visiting the USA in 1980-1981 was a strong (7.7-fold) risk factor for having a ratio < 1.00. Amnong 9 travelers who visited only once, the risk of having a low ratio increased significantly if the visit had occurred in 1981. A risk of similar magnitude (6.9-fold) was found among the 3 men who had not been to the USA but who reported homosexual contact with a Danish man who became ill with Kaposi''s sarcoma. Risk of low ratios did not correlate with age or years or homosexual activity. Promiscuity was not a significant risk factor; these men generally had fewer sex partners than that which has been reported from the USA. Neither nitrite inhalant use nor cytomegalovirus antibody (prevalence or titer) was associated with low ratios. Evidently, a transmissible biologic agent is etiologically responsible for the low helper/suppressor ratios in homosexual men.