Dry skin is more common in people with HIV than in people who are HIV-negative, according to a new study published in the journal AIDS. The authors found that HIV-positive men were more than four times as likely to report dry skin than HIV-negative men, and HIV-positive women almost twice as likely to report dry skin than their HIV-negative counterparts.

Daniel Lee, MD, of the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues compared the results of surveys and skin examinations involving 1,026 HIV-positive and 274 HIV-negative people. Approximately 42 percent of the positive men complained of dry skin, compared with almost 10 percent of the HIV-negative men. HIV-positive women were also more likely to have dry skin (51.5 percent) than HIV-negative women (31.6 percent).

CD4 counts below 200, a lack of adequate food intake, and use of the protease inhibitor Crixivan (indinavir) were the factors linked to skin dryness in the men. In women, a low CD4 count was also associated with dry skin. Because the study was not designed to identify the cause(s) of dry skin in people with HIV, researchers could not make prevention or treatment recommendations.