Churchgoing Is Associated with Late Presentation to Care Among HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men

Religious participation has been associated with healthy living in some analyses, prompting investigators to study church attendance among 508 HIV-infected patients at a Birmingham, Alabama, clinic who had not previously received outpatient care. More than 60% were men who have sex with men (MSM), 21% were men who have sex with women (MSW), and 18% were women who have sex with men (WSM). At presentation, 32% of the cohort had a CD4 count <200 cells/mm³, and 56% reported church attendance.

A CD4 count <200 cells/mm³ was significantly more common among MSM who reported church attendance than among nonattenders (34% vs. 20%), as was a lack of previous HIV testing (21% vs. 12%). For both MSW and WSM, no association between a presenting CD4 count…