Chunk #30 — RESULTS — CHRONIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONDITIONS WHERE ALCOHOL IS A COMPONENT CAUSE — HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS / ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (HIV/AIDS)
At the Cape Town meeting mentioned above, it was similarly concluded that there is conclusive evidence of a causal linkage between heavy drinking patterns and/or AUD and the worsening of the disease course for HIV/AIDS (for more detailed reasoning see [41;42]). While alcohol use is consistently associated with the prevalence and incidence of HIV [43-45], however, further research is needed to substantiate causality [46]. As indicated above, alcohol use, especially heavy use, weakens the immune system, thus creating a larger vulnerability for infections. However, in contrast to TB which can be acquired through essentially passive behavioural means, in order to become infected with HIV, there must be an additional active behavioural component, which in most cases involves engaging in unprotected sex. Although generalized alcohol use has been shown to be associated with overall reports of unprotected sex [47-49], when the relationship between alcohol consumption and unprotected sex is examined within event-level contexts (e.g., based on daily diary assessments), the relationship weakens, and in many cases, disappears [47;49-52]. These findings therefore suggest that alcohol consumption on its own may not be
