San Francisco HIV/AIDS Studies Series

The San Francisco Men's Health Study (SFMHS) was a prospective epidemiological study designed to learn more about the natural history of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The study was funded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) under a contract with the School of Public Health of the University of California, Berkeley.

Thanks to this premier study, the spread and transmission of HIV/AIDS was more easily understood and has had lasting impact on research in this area in the United States and beyond.

This series includes three main studies: the SFMHS, the United Men’s Health Study (UMHS), and the Young Men’s Health Study (YMHS). The SFMHS included a baseline survey in 1984-1985. In March 1994, the San Francisco Men's Health Study was merged with the San Francisco General Hospital Cohort Study to form the UMHS. Data collection activities in this phase of the project were restricted to basic surveillance of men known to be HIV-positive. In 1992-1993, a new sample of younger men in San Francisco was interviewed for the YMHS.