Open AccessSix-Month Hemoglobin Concentration and Its Association With Subsequent Mortality Among Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy in Lusaka, Zambia
Author(s) -
Mark J. Giganti,
Mohammed Limbada,
Albert Mwango,
Crispin Moyo,
Lloyd Mulenga,
M. Brad Guffey,
Priscilla Lumano Mulenga,
Carolyn BoltonMoore,
Jeffrey S. A. Stringer,
H. Benjamin
Publication year - 2012
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.0b013e31825da11d
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , hemoglobin , confidence interval , anemia , antiretroviral therapy , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , proportional hazards model , immunology , viral load
Little is known about changes in hemoglobin concentration early in the course of antiretroviral therapy and its subsequent relation to survival. We analyzed data for 40,410 HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy in Lusaka, Zambia. Our main exposure of interest was 6-month hemoglobin, but we stratified our analysis by baseline hemoglobin to allow for potential effect modification. Patients with a 6-month hemoglobin <8.5 g/dL, regardless of baseline, had the highest hazard for death after 6 months (hazard ratio: 4.5; 95% confidence interval: 3.3 to 6.3). Future work should look to identify causes of anemia in settings such as ours and evaluate strategies for more timely diagnosis and treatment.