Category Archives: Women
Integrating antiretroviral therapy into antenatal care and maternal and child health settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether integrating antiretroviral therapy (ART) into antenatal care (ANC) and maternal and child health (MCH) clinics could improve programmatic and patient outcomes. METHODS: The authors systematically searched...
Behavior change interventions to prevent HIV infection among women living in low and middle income countries: A systematic review
We conducted a systematic review of behavioral change interventions to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV among women and girls living in low- and middle-income countries. PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science,...
HIV status in discordant couples in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Most couples affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa live in discordant relationships. Men are thought to be the index case in most relationships, and most social marketing and awareness...
Topical microbicides for prevention of sexually transmitted infections
BACKGROUND: Two decades of research on topical microbicides for prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have had limited success. However, new microbicide randomised controlled trial (RCT) data have recently been...
Effects of psychological interventions on neuroendocrine hormone regulation and immune status in HIV-positive persons: A review of randomized controlled trials
We reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of psychological interventions on HIV disease markers including neuroendocrine hormone regulation and immune status. Utilizing both PubMed and PsycINFO, we...
Prevalence, severity, and duration of thrombocytopenia among HIV patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy
Thrombocytopenia is a clinically relevant outcome in HIV. However, the epidemiology of this condition, including frequency, severity, and duration, has not been well-characterized in the era of highly active antiretroviral...
Herpes simplex virus 2 infection increases HIV acquisition in men and women: Systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the sex-specific effect of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) on the acquisition of HIV infection. BACKGROUND: The increased number of longitudinal studies available since the last...
Influence of maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV): A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Maternal co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been implicated as a potentially important co-factor for enhanced vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV). In previous reports, however, methodological...
Meta-analysis of published studies or meta-analysis of individual data? Caesarean section in HIV-positive women as a study case
Very few comparative evaluations of meta-analysis of published data and meta-analysis using individual patient data have appeared in the medical literature. The association between type of delivery and HIV perinatal...
Children who acquire HIV infection perinatally are at higher risk of early death than those acquiring infection through breastmilk: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Assumptions about survival of HIV-infected children in Africa without antiretroviral therapy need to be updated to inform ongoing UNAIDS modelling of paediatric HIV epidemics among children. Improved estimates of...
