Sexual Activity and Kaposi's Sarcoma Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Human Herpesvirus Type 8-Coinfected Men

Eric W. Nawar, Stephen R. Cole, Homayoon Farzadegan, Mallory D. Witt, Frank J. Jenkins, Joseph B. Margolick, John P. Phair, Lisa P. Jacobson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: There is notable heterogeneity in the progression to Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) among men coinfected with HIV-1 and human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8); additional determinants of KS likely exist. Here, we explore sexual activity as a proxy for a sexually transmitted determinant beyond HIV-1 and HHV-8. Methods: The association between sexual activity and incident KS was estimated with data from 1354 HIV-1- and HHV-8-coinfected homosexual men who were followed for up to 10 years in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Results: As expected, white race, low CD4 cell count, and the acquisition of HHV-8 after HIV-1 infection increased, whereas smoking decreased, the hazard of KS. The unadjusted hazard of KS among those with high sexual activity was 0.68 relative to the hazard of those with low sexual activity (95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.93) and was somewhat muted after adjustment for characteristics measured at study entry (i.e., race, smoking, CD4 cell count, infection order, history of sexual activity, and sexually transmitted diseases). However, adjustment for time-varying covariates, particularly CD4 cell count, resulted in a nullification of the association (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-1.48). Conclusion: Once HIV-1 and HHV-8 coinfection is established in homosexual men, progression to KS does not appear to be caused by a third pathogen transmitted by sexual activity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)517-521
Number of pages5
JournalAnnals of epidemiology
Volume18
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2008

Keywords

  • HHV-8
  • HIV-1
  • Kaposi's sarcoma
  • Sexual activity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology

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