The New York Times - Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Eric Nagourney

People infected with the AIDS virus live longer if they are in stable sexual relationships, a new study reports.

The findings, which also show a slower progression of the disease for people in these relationships, are in keeping with past studies that have established links between emotional health and physical health.

"Social support, the emotional or tangible support available from other people," the authors wrote, "is one of the primary ways in which social relationships influence health."

People who live alone, the study noted, are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than are those who do not. But the researchers were curious how well the link applied to people with H.I.V.

The study, led by Dr. Heiner C. Bucher of the Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology in Switzerland, appears in BMJ, a British medical journal.

The researchers followed more than 3,700 infected people, 71 percent male, over five years. Every six months, the volunteers were asked whether they were in stable sexual relationships.

At the start of the study, 52 percent said they were. By the end, the figure had dropped to 46 percent. (Eighty percent reported being in a stable relationship at least once during the study.)

The study cited several explanations. Social support may actually have physical effects on the body and its disease-fighting mechanisms. Or it may ward off depression and anxiety, which can weaken a body's defenses. A good relationship may also encourage people to take their prescriptions and to avoid unhealthy actions.

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