HIV-infected men are more likely than HIV-positive women to develop virus-related skin diseases, according to research conducted by UCSF dermatologist Paradi Mirmirani. She presented the preliminary results of the study, part of the Women's Interagency HIV Study, last week at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Mirmirani reported that women also have a lower prevalence of AIDS-related skin diseases such as Kaposi's sarcoma and herpes simplex than men and that up to 21% of HIV-positive men have warts compared with 1.5% of HIV-positive women.

The researchers compared data from a study of skin diseases among women with and without HIV infection with data from studies of HIV-infected men. Mirmirani found that more than 40% of men have Kaposi's sarcoma compared with 0.4% of women, 49% of men have seborrheic dermatitis -- a chronic inflammatory skin disease -- compared with 4.3% of women, and 22% of men have herpes simplex infections compared with 4.3% of women. Almost three-quarters of men have xerosis (dry skin) compared with 12.7% of women.

The studies on women found that 57.8% of women with HIV had abnormal skin exams compared with 40.2% of women without HIV.

1st appeared 3/11/98

RETURN TO TOP