A prospective study of 115 initially asymptomatic HIV infected gay men in Stockholm, Sweden.

A cohort of 115 asymptomatic gay men, all seropositive for HIV, was recruited in a health screening project in Stockholm, Sweden, between Nov. 1982 and Dec. 1983 and subsequently followed and clinically evaluated after a mean observation time of 63 months. AIDS in accordance with the surveillance definition (CDC group IV C-1 and D) developed in 34 (29.6%) of the men, while 1 (0.9%) additional man died of multiple myeloma classified as CDC group IV E. Constitutional symptoms (CDC group IV A) developed in 13 (11.3%) men, while symptoms from the central nervous system classified as CDC group IV B occurred in 1 (0.9%) additional man. Minor opportunistic infections included in the definition for CDC group IV C-2 developed in 12 (10.4%) men, while 48 (41.7%) men remained asymptomatic, with or without persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL). One man who died of AIDS had been treated for malignant melanoma (MM) and one who did not fulfill the criteria for CDC group IV died of MM during the observation period. The 5-year actuarial progression rate to surveillance defined AIDS was 31.5% and to CDC group IV 53.6%. No statistically significant association was found between disease progression and a number of recorded epidemiological variables, most previous and present sexually transmitted diseases (STD) (except gonorrhoea) and the presence of PGL at entry. On the other hand, reduced delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, in particular to tuberculin, as well as the presence of a high IgG titer against cytomegalovirus (CMV), were correlated to disease progression.