Is low social support a risk factor for subsequent HIV disease progression?
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether measures of social support are associated with progression of HIV disease progression in a prospective cohort of homosexual men. METHODS: 357 subjects [133 seroprevalent (SP); 64 seroincident (SI); 160 seronegative (SN)] provided demographic and social support data and laboratory specimens at two annual cycles (1992 & 1993), and were AIDS-free at the time CD4 counts were determined in 1992. Social support measures were network size (NSz) and a 26-item Instrumental-Expressive Social Support Scale (IES). IES was coded 0 (rarely/never) vs. 1 (mostly/always) for each of the 26 items, and the upper tertile of the summed IES score was used to categorize subjects as high IES (hiIES) vs. low IES (loIES). NSz below the lowest tertile differentiated between networks which were considered small (smNSz) versus large (lgNSz). hiIES and smNSz indicate low social support. ANCOVA were conducted adjusting for baseline CD4 counts and CDC stage in 1992, where the dependent
