SEVERITY OF MATERNAL HIV-1 DISEASE IS ASOCIATED WITH ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES IN MALAWIAN WOMEN

Abstract

HIV-infected women have increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery (PTD). We assessed whether severity of maternal HIV-1 disease - characterised by HIV-1 viral load in peripheral blood, HIV-1 viral load in placental blood, and maternal CD4+ T-cell count - was associated with LBW or PTD. We performed secondary analyses of The Malaria and HIV in Pregnancy prospective cohort, which enrolled HIV-positive, pregnant Malawian women from 2000–2004. Included participants (n = 809) were antiretroviral treatment-naïve, normotensive women who delivered a live, singleton infant. Binomial regression models were used to assess unadjusted and adjusted pre..