ABSTRACT
Background According to the Department of Public Health Malaysia, the total number of HIV patients up to December 2006 was 76,389. More than 90% were males with Malays being the majority. IVDU was the main mode of transmission followed by heterosexual contact. Objectives To determine the sociodemography, associated risk factors and clinical presentation of patients with HIV attending the Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinic. Method A retrospective study analyzing the data using a standard questionnaire. All HIV patients seen in the GUM clinic between 1/1/2000-31/12/2005 were recruited. Results A total of 191 patients with HIV were seen, with 84% being males and 16% females. This constituted 4.2% of the total number of patients seen in the clinic. 64% were Chinese, 18% Malays, 15% Indians and 2% other races. 90% were between 21-50 years of age. The major risk factors for males were sexual promiscuity (61%) and IVDU (14%). 41% frequented commercial sex workers. 74% were heterosexuals, 18% homosexuals and 8% bisexuals. The major risk factors for females were being sexual partners of HIV infected males (48%), IVDU (16%) and sex workers (6%). Majority reported no usage of condom. The main diagnoses at presentation were herpes genitalis (24%), genital warts (22%), gonorrhoea (10%) and syphilis (10%). Non venereal disease accounted for 23%. Conclusions The major risk factor for HIV transmission in patients attending the GUM clinic was exposure to sex workers, and the predominant race was Chinese. According to the national figure the main mode of HIV transmission was IVDU with Malays being the majority. The main diagnoses at presentation were herpes genitalis, genital warts, gonorrhoes and syphilis.