Category Archives: Epidemiology
Neurocognitive impairment and associated factors among people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis of African studies
BACKGROUND: Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) is one of the most common neurological complications in HIV-positive individuals, particularly in resource-limited countries. Neurocognitive impairments can occur at any stage of HIV infection, although...
A systematic review of the association between smoking exposure and HPV-related cervical cell abnormality among women living with HIV: Implications for prevention strategies
This study aims to evaluate the association between smoking exposure and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical abnormalities among women living with HIV (WLWH). By conducting a systematic review of the current...
PrEP for women in Europe: A systematic literature review
BACKGROUND: Prevention of HIV transmission is fundamental to ending the HIV epidemic. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with oral tenofovir-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) is an established HIV-prevention method; however, most PrEP services in Europe...
Progress of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries towards achieving the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets: A review
BACKGROUND: In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and partners launched the 90-90-90 targets. These were further updated to correspond to 95-95-95 by the year 2025. We...
Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech (Bnt162b2) mRNA vaccination in immunocompromised adolescents and young adults: A systematic review and meta-analyses
Background: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in immunocompromised adolescents and young adults. Research design and methods: The study conducted a meta-analysis of post-marketing studies...
Humoral immune response to two doses of COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines in people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
People living with HIV (PLWH) are susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection and hence this fragile population has prioritised vaccination. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the humoral immune...
Immunogenicity, effectiveness and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Objectives: People living with HIV (PLWH) experience a greater risk of morbidity and mortality following COVID-19 infection, and poorer immunological responses to several vaccines. We explored existing evidence regarding the immunogenicity,...
Disparities in healthcare access and utilization among people living with HIV in China: A scoping review and meta-analysis
Background Healthcare disparities hinder the goal of ending the HIV pandemic by 2030. This review aimed to understand the status of healthcare disparities among people living with HIV (PLWH) in...
The impact of needle and syringe exchange programs on HIV-related risk behaviors in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining individual- versus community-level effects
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of needle and syringe exchange programs (NSP) on both individual- and community-level needle-sharing behaviors and other HIV-related outcomes in low-...
The state of the research on opioid outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexuality- and gender-diverse populations: A scoping review
Purpose: Research on opioid misuse, opioid use disorder (OUD), and overdose (i.e., opioid outcomes) among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other populations within the LGBTQ umbrella (LGBTQ+) remains sparse. The...
Correlation between CD4 T-cell counts and seroconversion among COVID-19 vaccinated patients with HIV: A meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential factors for predicting seroconversion due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in people living with HIV (PLWH). METHOD: We searched the PubMed, Embase and...
Incidence of Pneumocystis pneumonia in immunocompromised patients without human immunodeficiency virus on intravenous pentamidine prophylaxis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is a first-line Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis agent, but monthly intravenous pentamidine (IVP) is used in immunocompromised hosts without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because IVP is...
