A description of HIV-exposed uninfected infants in the IeDEA Southern Africa Cohort and an examination of growth outcomes

Since the successful use of antiretroviral therapy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there has been a steady increase in the number of infants born to HIV-infected mothers who remain uninfected. The characteristics of these HIV-exposed uninfected infants are not well known, including growth and other health outcomes. The International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS Southern Africa (IeDEA-SA) research strategy 2011-2016 includes specific studies in pregnant women, infants, children and adolescents. This study addresses one of the IeDEA-SA objectives, namely to establish and describe a sub-cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women and their exposed infants. Part A, the protocol, includes background information on sites contributing to this cohort of HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants. It also details the aims, objectives and methodology of this study. Part B, the literature review, discusses what is known about HIV-exposed uninfected infants to date. It includes maternal disease factors, the use of antiretroviral therapy and the association between feeding modality and growth, focussing on studies conducted on the African continent. Part C, the manuscript, details the methodology, results and their interpretation of longitudinal analysis of growth among HEU infants in the IeDEA-SA collaboration. This cohort of HEU infants included 2621 infants from two South African sites. The median birth WAZ was -0.65 (IQR -1.46; 0.0), 51% were male and there was a median of 2 visits per infant. The feeding modalities practised were as follows: 0.5% exclusive breastfeeding, 7.9% unknown breastfeeding exclusivity, 78.6% mixed breastfeeding and 10.6% formula feeding. Mothers with a CD4 <200 cells/&#956;l delivered infants with a lower birth WAZ (adjusted ß -0.253 [95% CI -0.043; -0.072], p = 0.006) compared to mothers with a CD4 &#8805;500 cells/&#8807;l. Similarly, iv mothers who did not receive antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs delivered infants with a lower birth WAZ (adjusted ß -0.49 [95% CI -0.78; -0.20], p = 0.001) compared to mothers who received antenatal ARVs. Antenatal maternal ARVs and CD4 cell count did not have an effect on postnatal growth. Mixed effects models using maximum likelihood estimation for the longitudinal analysis of growth showed that exposure to breast milk positively influenced growth, albeit the effect was small. Infants with a birth weight <2 500g (ß 0.069 [95% CI 0.061; 0.078], p <0.0001) experienced faster growth within the first 28 weeks of life compared to infants with a birth weight &#8805;2 500g. In this cohort of South African HEU infants, less severe maternal disease and the use of ARVs positively impacted birth weight. Mixed feeding was common, and any breastfeeding may have a positive effect on longitudinal growth.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Public Health and Family Medicine

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Morden, Erna

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Davies, Mary-Ann

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13248

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13248