The Epidemiological Investigation of Patients with HIV/AIDS in Bandar Abbas Behavioral Disorders Counseling Center During 2005-2015

The epidemic Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the most serious public health threat in the world now. HIV affects the human immune system and causes damage of catching opportunistic infections. The epidemic pattern of the disease is strongly dependent on high risk behaviors as a major factor in the community. The aim of this study was epidemiological investigation of HIV/AIDS patients in Bandar Abbas Behavioral Disorders Counseling Center during 2005-2015.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on 426 HIV-positive patients aged 18 years old and older who were under the care of the Counseling Center for Behavioral Diseases in Bandar Abbas during 2005 to 2015. Demographic and clinical information were extracted from the patients’ records by the staff of the consulting center and was recorded in the researcher made checklist. Data were analyzed using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.
The average and standard deviation of age of patients was 36.30±8.02 years, most of them were in the age group of 18-44 years old ,and 73% (311 cases) were male. Twenty three percent (92 cases) of patients were in AIDS stage. Most of the patients were infected through drug injection abuse (62.4%) and sexual intercourse (42.5%).
The results of the current study showed that most of the patients have been infected through injecting drug use. Therefore, desirable education and proper counseling are effective to prevent and control the risk factors and reduce the incidence of the disease in the community.