Category Archives: Women
Vaginal ring acceptability: A systematic review and meta-analysis of vaginal ring experiences from around the world
OBJECTIVE: The vaginal ring (ring) is a female-initiated, long-acting drug delivery system for different indications, including HIV prevention. Our aim was to provide evidence for acceptability of the vaginal ring...
Risk of vertical transmission of chronic viral infections after invasive prenatal procedures
OBJECTIVES: Invasive prenatal procedures including amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can be prenatally indicated for diagnostic purposes. Chronic viral infections with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis...
The prevalence, risk factors and outcomes of anaemia in South African pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Anaemia is associated with maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The pooled prevalence of anaemia in the South African (SA) pregnant population was ascertained by systematically reviewing available literature....
Where are the pregnant and breastfeeding women in new pre-exposure prophylaxis trials? The imperative to overcome the evidence gap
Pregnant and breastfeeding populations are at substantial risk of acquiring HIV in some settings, yet are underrepresented in clinical trials of new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) agents. Several PrEP formulations are...
Prevalence of high-risk HPV genotypes in sub-Saharan Africa according to HIV status: A 20-year systematic review
OBJECTIVES: This review assessed the rate of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among women living in sub-Saharan Africa. It also determined the prevalence of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) among human immunodeficiency...
The effects of human immunodeficiency virus, human papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus-1 and -2, human herpesvirus-6 and -8, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis B and C virus on female fertility and pregnancy
Female infertility may be defined as a woman of reproductive age being unable to become pregnant after a year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Social, genetic, endocrine, physiological, and psychological...
Human immunodeficiency: Extragonadal comorbidities of infertility in women
INTRODUCTION: Infertility is mediated by several changes system-wide. These changes are likely to cause other systems-related pathologies, such as changes in systemic immune response, particularly inflammatory response can lead to...
Improving retention in antenatal and postnatal care: A systematic review of evidence to inform strategies for adolescents and young women living with HIV
INTRODUCTION: Young pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV (WLHIV) are at high risk of poor outcomes in prevention of mother-to-child transmission services. The aim of this systematic review was...
A systematic review of the engagement with social media-delivered interventions for improving health outcomes among sexual and gender minorities
BACKGROUND: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) persons face a number of physical and mental health disparities closely linked to discrimination, social stigma, and victimization. Despite the acceptability and increasing number...
A narrative review of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the placenta and placental bed of HIV infected women of African ancestry with preeclampsia
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Both HIV infection and preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy-specific disorder of hypertension and multi-system organ involvement, have high prevalence rates especially in low-to-middle-income countries. The immunoexpression of specific...
HIV-sensitive social protection for vulnerable young women in East and Southern Africa: A systematic review
Introduction: Social protection programmes are considered HIV-sensitive when addressing risk, vulnerability or impact of HIV infection. Socio-economic interventions, like livelihood and employability programmes, address HIV vulnerabilities like poverty and gender inequality....
High-risk human papillomavirus infection among women living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review and meta-analysis
We carried out a systematic review to summarize available data regarding prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) among women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)....
