Abstract
Objective: To examine factors associated with perinatal HIV-1 transmission among twins. Methods: We identified twins delivered by a population-based cohort of HIV-infected mothers on New York State Medicaid. Tested algorithms were applied to Medicaid files to identify HIV infection in mothers and twins. The HIV transmission rate 3 years after delivery was assessed from Kaplan-Meier curves. Proportional hazards models with adjustment for twin clustering were used to determine the relative hazard (RH) of transmission. Results: In 35 twin pairs, transmission was 20.5%. The risk of transmission was increased significantly for advanced maternal HIV infection (rh = 10.8, 95% confidence interval 2.11, 54.9). We found no association of birth order with twin HIV status. Conclusions: These data suggest that maternal stage of disease plays a greater role in vertical HIV transmission than birth order. To prevent maternal-child HIV transmission, reducing maternal vital load is likely to have a greater impact than modifying delivery factors.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 114-119 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Pediatric AIDS and HIV Infection |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health