ISSN:
1432-1076
Keywords:
HIV infections
;
Infant newborn
;
Pregnancy
;
Parity
;
Caesarean section
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Abstract In a national prospective study of risk factors for mother-tochild transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 316 children of HIV-positive mothers were followed up for at least 6 months. Infection status was determined in 254 of them and 46 were found to be infected giving a transmission rate of 18.1%. Univariate analysis of potential risk factors for mother-to-child transmission showed an association between primiparity and increased transmission rate: odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–4.6,P〈0.05. Analysis by logistic regression confirmed this association (adjusted odds ratio 2.4) and showed, in addition, a negative association between transmission rate and elective Caesarean section (adjusted odds ratio 0.36, 95% CI 0.13–0.97,P〈0.05). The effect of primiparity was less pronounced in combination with elective Caesarean section (odds ratio 1.7) than with other delivery modes (odds ratio 2.5, difference not significant. HIV-infected children were less likely to experience the birth of a younger sibling during the observation period than their uninfected counterparts (2 of 46 vs 27 of 208,P〈0.05 by logrank test). Conclusions Primiparous women appear to transmit HIV to their children at a higher rate. This could be explained by increased intrapartum transmission because of longer and more complicated labour in primiparas and/or by a self-selection of women with lower risk of transmission among those deciding to have additional children.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02074831
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