Are there gender differences in starting protease inhibitors, HAART, and disease progression despite equal access to care?
OBJECTIVES: To describe gender differences in starting and response to treatment regimens and long-term clinical outcome in a well-characterized regional population from the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic (SAC) of 1403 patients, where all medical care for HIV, including physician fees, laboratory tests, and antiretroviral drug costs is provided free of charge. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relative risk of starting treatment regimens and disease progression (new AIDS-defining illness or death). RESULTS: There are 126 women in the SAC (9.0%). The median CD4 lymphocyte count at first visit among all patients was 350 cells/mm3, and was significantly higher among women than men (428 cells/mm3 versus 345 cells/mm3, respectively; p = 0.0024). Participating women were less well educated than participating men; 29% of women did not proceed beyond a tenth grade education compared with 13% of men; only 28% of women went to coll
