To investigate the features and influencing factors of self-discrimination among patients with HIV/AIDS according to sex.

A total of 2 432 HIV/AIDS patients were recruited in Yunnan, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia provinces by a multistage stratified cluster sampling method, based on HIV epidemic and transmission modes, from May 2013 to October 2013. All participants were ≥18 years old, and we excluded those with mental disorders, hearing loss or other factors that prevented them from properly answering questions, and those who were unwilling to participate. A self-designed questionnaire was conducted to collect information about self-discrimination features and social behavior changes among HIV/AIDS patients. Differences in performance and self-discrimination features between participants of different sexes were compared using the chi-squared test. Factors influencing self-discrimination were analyzed by sex, using unconditional logistic regression.

Of the 2 432 cases, 78.9%(1 918 cases)were male and 21.1%(514 cases)female. The proportion of self-discrimination overall was 76.1%(1 850 cases); this proportion among female HIV/AIDS patients was 80.5%(414 cases), which was higher than that among men(74.9%, 1 436 cases)(χ²=7.17, P=0.007). Of the 11 forms of self-discrimination performance, proportions of feeling guilt, shame, and self-abasement among participants were greater than 50%. Proportions of feeling shame, inferiority, and blaming others among females were 61.3%, 59.5%, and 45.3%, respectively, which were higher than these among males(49.8%, 50.0%, 28.4%, respectively)(P<0.01). Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of self-discrimination among those with HIV confirmatory testing time ≥1 year was higher than those with HIV confirmatory testing time <1 year(females: OR=35.67, 95%CI:17.28-73.64; males: OR=8.74, 95% CI:6.79-11.25). Compared with other occupations, the risk of self-discrimination among male farm workers was higher(OR=1.62, 95% CI:1.03-2.54). The risks of self-discrimination in males who had been infected with HIV by transmission routes of blood transfusion or blood collection(OR=2.38, 95% CI:1.31-4.30), injection drug use(OR=1.78, 95% CI:1.09-2.91), and male-to-male sexual behavior(OR=1.48, 95%CI:1.08-2.03)were higher than in males infected via heterosexual behavior.

Female HIV/AIDS patients are more likely to engage in self-discrimination than male patients. Self-discrimination mainly takes the form of feeling remorse, shame, and inferiority. Confirmatory testing time ≥1 year, occupation as a farm work, and routes of transmission via blood transfusion or collection, injection drug use, and male-to-male sexual behavior are influencing factors of self-discrimination among male HIV/AIDS patients. Confirmatory testing time ≥1 year is the influencing factor of self-discrimination among female HIV/AIDS patients.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; HIV; Self-discrimination; Influencing factors