Open AccessA Prospective Study of the Effect of Pregnancy on CD4 Counts and Plasma HIV-1 RNA Concentrations of Antiretroviral-Naive HIV-1–Infected Women
Author(s) -
Renee Heffron,
Deborah Donnell,
James Kiarie,
Helen Rees,
Kenneth Ngure,
Nelly Mugo,
Edwin Were,
Connie Celum,
Jared M. Baeten
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/qai.0000000000000013
Subject(s) - pregnancy , medicine , confidence interval , postpartum period , prospective cohort study , viral load , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , obstetrics , gestation , antiretroviral therapy , lentivirus , sida , young adult , viral disease , immunology , gynecology , biology , genetics
In HIV-1-infected women, CD4 count declines occur during pregnancy, which has been attributed to hemodilution. However, for women who have not initiated antiretroviral therapy, it is unclear if CD4 declines are sustained beyond pregnancy and accompanied by increased viral levels, which could indicate an effect of pregnancy on accelerating HIV-1 disease progression.