Category Archives: Epidemiology
Sex in the shadow of HIV: A systematic review of prevalence, risk factors, and interventions to reduce sexual risk-taking among HIV-positive adolescents and youth in sub-Saharan Africa
BACKGROUND: Evidence on sexual risk-taking among HIV-positive adolescents and youth in sub-Saharan Africa is urgently needed. This systematic review synthesizes the extant research on prevalence, factors associated with, and interventions...
Prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among intravenous drug users: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Intravenous drug users (IDUs) have been demonstrated to be highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, the prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an important co-infected agent with HIV, among this...
Global epidemiology of HIV infection and related syndemics affecting transgender people
INTRODUCTION: Transgender populations have been underrepresented in HIV epidemiologic studies and consequently in HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs. Since 2012, there has been a dramatic increase in research focused...
Renal manifestations of HIV during the antiretroviral era in South Africa: A systematic scoping review
BACKGROUND: It is estimated that 650,000 patients may develop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related renal disease in South Africa. South Africa has recently adopted WHO policy, stipulating that all HIV-infected patients...
The peer and non-peer: The potential of risk management for HIV prevention in contexts of prostitution
Sex workers have been the protagonists and focus of HIV prevention campaigns and research since the late 1980s in Brazil. Through a review of national and international literature, combined with...
A scoping review of prevalence, incidence and risk factors for HIV infection amongst young people in Brazil
BACKGROUND: Despite young people being a key population for HIV prevention, the HIV epidemic amongst young Brazilians is perceived to be growing. We therefore reviewed all published literature on HIV...
Health outcomes associated with crack-cocaine use: Systematic review and meta-analyses
BACKGROUND: Crack-cocaine use is prevalent largely in socio-economically marginalized populations in the Americas. Its use has been associated with diverse health outcomes, yet no recent or systematic reviews of these...
Meta-analysis of alcohol and serodiscordant condomless sex among people living with HIV
While observational studies have found that alcohol consumption is associated with serodiscordant condomless sex among people living with HIV (PLHIV), no meta-analysis has yet examined this trend. We conducted a...
HIV and tuberculosis co-infection among migrants in Europe: A systematic review on the prevalence, incidence and mortality
BACKGROUND: International human migration has been rapidly growing. Migrants coming from low and middle income countries continue to be considerably vulnerable and at higher risk for infectious diseases, namely HIV...
A historical review of HIV prevention and care initiatives in British Columbia, Canada: 1996-2015
INTRODUCTION: British Columbia has made significant progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV since 1996, when Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) became available. However, we currently lack a historical...
Prevalence of hepatitis D virus infection in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis D virus (also known as hepatitis delta virus) can establish a persistent infection in people with chronic hepatitis B, leading to accelerated progression of liver disease. In sub-Saharan...
