Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type I (HIV-1) Antibodies in a Family-Planning Population

Blind testing of 743 women who attended an inner-city hospital family-planning clinic showed 8 (1.1%) patients to have serum antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1). A retrospective chart survey did not show an association between HIV-1 antibody seropositivity and ethnicity, marital status, education, history of sexually transmitted diseases, drug and/or alcohol use, and contraceptive method. This failure to establish previously reported correlation may be a function of methods, sample size, or reflect a different population. Nonetheless, the seroprevalence the authors found shows that all patients in a family-planning clinic setting should be offered HIV-1 antibody testing.