Health and Health Care Among Male-to-Female Transgender Persons Who Are HIV Positive

Abstract

Recent studies have reported high rates of HIV infection among male-to-female transgender persons, but little research has examined how male-to-female transgender persons manage living with HIV. We compared demographic and health characteristics of 59 male-to-female transgender persons who were HIV positive with 300 nontransgender control subjects who were HIV positive. We found several demographic differences between the groups but no significant differences in HIV-related health status. Male-to-female transgender persons were less likely than the control group to take highly active antiretroviral therapy.