[Persons living with HIV/AIDS: ethnic and sociocultural differences in Chile].

BACKGROUND: The association between ethnicity and HIV/AIDS is an emerging and unexplored issue in Chile.

AIM: To determine the profile of patients with HIV/AIDS by ethnicity and socioeconomic factors associated with diagnostic-therapeutic opportunity in the Araucania and Metropolitan regions.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 558 patients from two centers of HIV/AIDS in Chile. Data were collected using a questionnaire with clinical and sociocultural data obtained under informed consent. Descriptive analysis raw and stratified associations for each variable was performed.

RESULTS: Mapuche patients were mostly male, heterosexual (53.1%), lower average age (36.7 years), educational and income level lower than no Mapuche patients. The median of CD4(+) lymphocytes from Mapuche patients was the lowest in the sample, less than 51 cells/mm3, under 25 percentile (CI 38-123). Lifestyle variables indicated that drug use, number of sexual partners, and relationships between men were associated with higher levels of income, education and no Mapuche ethnicity.

CONCLUSION: There are differences between Mapuche and non Mapuche patients regarding their sociocultural and clinical status, which generates health inequalities.