Gender, race, and socioeconomic status influence comorbidity in HIV-positive individuals who smoke.

Comorbidity was to a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic factors among people with HIV who smoked. Those with mental health comorbidity were more likely to be older, white, and female; to be on public health insurance or uninsured, and to have unstable housing conditions.

The risk of CPC comorbidity was strongly associated with older age, female sex, and non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity. Comorbid CPC was also linked to unstable housing, but not to other sociodemographic factors.

Comorbidity was also increased for participants with poorer clinical characteristics: AIDS diagnosis, lower CD4+ cell count, and high viral load. These associations were stronger for CPC than for mental health comorbidity. Substance use did not appear to affect comorbidity risks.

Reference: Jessica L. Elf et al, Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care