Human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity among members of the active duty US Army 1985-89

Abstract

Between October 1985 and June 1989, most active duty US Army soldiers were screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody. Of 648,032 screened soldiers in this analysis, 1,588 were HIV-antibody positive. In a multivariate analysis, correlates of positivity included: age [Adjusted Odds Ratios (ref less than 20 years) = 20-24 years, 3.7; 25-29, 9.3; 30-34, 15.7; greater than or equal to 35, 15.9]; being male, [4.2]; being Black or Hispanic (vs white) [3.7 and 3.0, respectively]; being single (vs married) [3.8]; assignment to an HIV endemic location [1.7], and having a medical occupation [2.7, 2.7, and 2.6 for negligible, low, and high blood exposure professions, respectively]. Seropositivity rate ratios for medical vs non-medical personnel were 0.7 [95% CI = 0.4, 1.4] for females and 2.9 [95% CI = 2.5, 3.3] for males. For male medical personnel, being single (vs married) correlated strongly with antibody positivity [prevalence ratio = 3.4, 95% CI = 2.6, 4.6]. Excess HIV risk among medical personnel appeared largely attributable to factors other than occupational exposures.