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A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of low serum retinol, [alpha]-tocopherol, zinc, and selenium in HIV-infected subjects taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to assess the association of micronutrient levels with HIV disease status. Low retinol, [alpha]-tocopherol, and selenium are uncommon in HIV-infected subjects in HAART.

Insulin resistance (IR) in an HIV-infected cohort was evaluated and the results were compared with those of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. The Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) was determined in 378 non-diabetic participants in the Nutrition for Healthy Living (NFHL) study and the association of the QUICKI was evaluated with demographic, socioeconomic, body composition, lipid, liver function, HIV-associated factors and injection drug use.

Objectives: We explore the relationships between socially assigned race ("How do other people usually classify you in this country?"), self-identified race/ethnicity, and excellent or very good general health status. We then take advantage of subgroups which are discordant on self-identified race/ethnicity and socially assigned race to examine whether being classified by others as White conveys an advantage in health status, even for those who do not self-identify as White. Methods: Analyses were conducted using pooled data from the eight states that used the Reactions to Race module of the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Results: The agreement of socially assigned race with self-identified race/ethnicity varied across the racial/ethnic groups currently defined by the United States government. Included among those usually classified by others as White were 26.8% of those who self-identified as Hispanic, 47.6% of those who self-identified as American Indian, and 59.5% of those who self-identified with More than one race. Among those who self-identified as Hispanic, the age-, education-, and language-adjusted proportion reporting excellent or very good health was 8.7 percentage points higher for those socially assigned as White than for those socially assigned as Hispanic (P= .04); among those who self-identified as American Indian, that proportion was 15.4 percentage points higher for those socially assigned as White than for those socially assigned as American Indian (P= .05); and among those who self-identified with More than one race, that proportion was 23.6 percentage points higher for those socially assigned as White than for those socially assigned as Black (P<.01). On the other hand, no significant differences were found between those socially assigned as White who self-identified as White and those socially assigned as White who self-identified as Hispanic, as American Indian, or with More than one race. Conclusions: Being classified by others as White is associated with large and statistically significant advantages in health status, no matter how one self-identifies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on a case study that was conducted to examine metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients. The study was primarily focused on medication history and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among HIV clinic patients. Apart from making many useful observations, the study concluded that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was similar among the HIV-infected patients included in the study.