Comparative demographic and autopsy findings in acquired immune deficiency syndrome in two Mexican populations.

In order to identify the characteristics of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) as it occurs in Mexico, a comparative study of the demographic and pathological findings of the first 58 patients who died of AIDS and were autopsied at two Mexican hospitals, Hospital General de Mexico (HG) and Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion (INN), was performed. The patient population consisted of 52 men and 6 women. Their socioeconomic status (SES) was estimated using the occupational prestige and level of education as indicators. As in the U.S.A., most patients (72%) were male homosexuals/bisexuals (HMS/BSX). However, nine patients (31%) at the HG could not be assigned to any of the currently known risk groups. Comparison of the SES of the two series revealed a significantly higher number of poor patients at HG (81 vs. 17%). For the whole group, the most frequent infections were caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) (65%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (28%), Pneumocystis carinii (24%), and Toxoplasma gondii (17%). Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) was found in 41% of the cases. The frequency of toxoplasmosis was higher in poor patients (30 vs. 8%, odds ratio of 5.5, 95% confidence limits of 0.83, 39.34, p = 0.04) while the reverse situation was true for KS (18 vs. 61%, odds ratio of 0.14, 95% confidence limits of 0.04, 0.55, p = 0.001). For KS, this difference persisted when only HMS/BSX patients were compared. In conclusion, dissimilarities observed in the frequency of some AIDS-associated diseases in different institutions appear to be mainly influenced by the SES of the patients.