ABSTRACT
The increase in survival rates of patients affected by AIDS is associated with physical disabilities that can compromise their functional independence. We examined the degree and types of disabilities in hospitalized AIDS patients , as well the clinical and immunological parameters associated with disability. The lowered functional status was associated with increased time since AIDS had been diagnosed, with complaints of weakness, and with the involvement of more than one set of systems in the definition of AIDS. The inability to perform daily living activities was associated with higher viral loads (log) c/mL, lower CD4+/mL and CD4+/CD8+ ratios, and with involvement of the central nervous system, in the cause of hospitalization. Both the inability to perform daily living activities and low functional status were associated with muscle strength alteration and with being unemployed.