Premium
Risk factors associated with low CD4+ lymphocyte count among HIV‐positive pregnant women in Nigeria
Author(s) -
Abimiku Alash'le,
VillalbaDiebold Pacha,
Dadik Jelpe,
Okolo Felicia,
Mang Edwina,
Charurat Man
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.03.057
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , confidence interval , obstetrics , pregnancy , logistic regression , prospective cohort study , cohort study , gynecology , condom , prenatal care , cohort , lymphocyte , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , population , immunology , syphilis , environmental health , genetics , biology
Objective To determine the risk factors for CD4+ lymphocyte counts of 200 cells/mm 3 or lower in HIV‐positive pregnant women in Nigeria. Method A cross‐sectional data analysis from a prospective cohort of 515 HIV‐positive women attending a prenatal clinic. Risk of a low CD4+ count was estimated using logistic regression analysis. Results CD4+ lymphocyte counts of 200 cells/mm 3 or lower (280 ± 182 cells/mm 3 ) were recorded in 187 (36.3%) out of 515 HIV‐positive pregnant women included in the study. Low CD4+ count was associated with older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 10.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–95.53), lack of condom use (aOR, 5.16; 95% CI, 1.12–23.8), history of genital ulcers (aOR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.12–2.82), and history of vaginal discharge (aOR; 1.62; 1.06–2.48). Conclusions Over 35% of the HIV‐positive pregnant women had low CD4+ counts, indicating the need for treatment. The findings underscore the need to integrate prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission with HIV treatment and care, particularly services for sexually transmitted infections.