Category Archives: Women
Vitamin supplementation for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pre-term delivery: A systematic review of randomized trial including more than 2800 women
Background: Observational studies have suggested that low serum vitamin levels are associated with increased mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and increased preterm delivery. We aimed to determine the efficacy of...
HIV-related stigma as a barrier to achievement of global PMTCT and maternal health goals: A review of the evidence
The global community has set goals of virtual elimination of new child HIV infections and 50 percent reduction in HIV-related maternal mortality by the year 2015. Although much progress has...
Heterosexual risk of HIV infection in China: Systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Heterosexual sex has become the dominant transmission route in China. Recently studies reported high heterogeneity in heterosexual transmission risk in resource-limited countries. The aim of this study was to...
Antiretrovirals for reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection
Background Antiretroviral drugs (ARV) reduce viral replication and can reduce mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV either by lowing plasma viral load in pregnant women or through post‐exposure prophylaxis in their newborns....
Economic evaluation of drug abuse treatment and HIV prevention programs in pregnant women: A systematic review
Drug abuse and transmission of HIV during pregnancy are public health problems that adversely affect pregnant women, their children and surrounding communities. Programs that address this vulnerable population have the...
Risk of window period hepatitis-C infection in high infectious risk donors: Systematic review and meta-analysis
The OPTN classifies high infectious risk donors (HRDs) based on criteria originally intended to identify people at risk for HIV infection. These donors are sometimes referred to as ‘CDC high...
Complex interventions to improve the health of people with limited literacy: A systematic review
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the published literature on the effects of complex (multi-faceted) interventions intended to improve the health-related outcomes of individuals with limited literacy or numeracy. METHODS: We undertook a...
The evolving design and methods for trials evaluating the safety of candidate vaginal microbicides: A systematic review
Vaginal preexposure prophylaxis is a promising biomedical tool for HIV prevention. Although guidelines for the clinical assessment of microbicides are available, validated markers for product safety are lacking. To inform...
Efficacy of interventions in improving highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence and HIV-1 RNA viral load: A meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials
Summary: Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is generally suboptimal, limiting the effectiveness of HAART. This meta-analytic review examined whether behavioral interventions addressing HAART adherence are successful in increasing...
Impact of small reductions in plasma HIV RNA levels on the risk of heterosexual transmission and disease progression
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of small changes in plasma levels of HIV-1 RNA on the risk of heterosexual transmission or disease progression to an AIDS-defining event or death. DESIGN...
Prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus in carcinoma and intraepithelial neoplasia of the vulva, vagina and anus: A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis investigated human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence in vulvar, vaginal and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN, VAIN, AIN) grades 1-3 and carcinoma from 93 studies conducted in 4 continents and using...
Probiotics: Potential to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted infections in women
Women are at significant risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) acquisition with the genital mucosa serving as the main portal of infection. Exogenously supplied lactobacillus...
