Sir.—Marion et al1 describe a human immunodeficiency (HIV)–related dysmorphogenesis syndrome involving craniofacial and soft-tissue stigmata or traits that was apparently more common in the affected sample of 37 subjects than in the reference or study sample of 15 presumably HIV-free cases.
However, the description of their total series of 52 subjects, including the antibody-positive cases and the controls, discloses a heterogeneous sample that is predominantly black (38%), followed by white (33%) and then Hispanics (29%). It is not clear whether the Hispanics are all of Puerto Rican descent or include South and Central Americans now resident in New York boroughs.
Compared with whites, blacks and Puerto Ricans do more often show bulbous foreheads, broader nasal roots, greater facial and mandibular breadths, larger arch diameters, and greater lip eversion.2 Are these and other characteristics described for the acquired immunodeficiency—related or HIV-positive cases peculiar to the syndrome or normative
GARN SM. HIV-Related Dysmorphogenesis. Am J Dis Child. 1988;142(1):10. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1988.02150010016002