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Sexual behavior and injection drug use during pregnancy and vertical transmission of HIV-1.




 

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1997 May 1;15(1):76-82.

We evaluated maternal sexual behavior and injection drug use practices as possible risk factors for vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Data were analyzed from the Mothers and Infants Cohort Study, a prospective study in Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York. A total of 207 mother-infant sets were enrolled between 1986 and 1991 and followed for up to 4 years after the enrollment visit during pregnancy. HIV-1 transmission occurred in 49 of 201 mother-infant sets, yielding an overall transmission rate of 24.4% (95% confidence interval CI) = 18.7% to 31.0%). Increased frequency of vaginal intercourse after the first trimester of pregnancy was positively associated with vertical transmission of HIV-1 (trend p = 0.03). A lifetime history of injection drug use was not associated with vertical transmission. However, a history of combined cocaine and heroin injection after the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with vertical HIV-1 transmission, particularly among women with CD4+ lymphocyte levels of 20% or higher (risk ratio = 4.0; 95% CI = 2.0 to 8.1). Cocaine and heroin injection drug use after the first trimester accounted for most of the relation between preterm birth and vertical HIV-1 transmission in this cohort. Maternal coinfection with hepatitis C virus or human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I and II could not explain these observations, because coinfection with these viruses had no detectable effect on HIV-1 transmission. These results suggest that maternal sexual behavior and injection drug use practices during the second and third trimester of pregnancy may modify the risk of vertical HIV-1 transmission.

*Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/TRANSMISSION *Disease Transmission, Vertical *HIV-1 *Sex Behavior *Substance Abuse, Intravenous/COMPLICATIONS



 




Information in this article was accurate in September 30, 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.