title: Highly active antiretroviral therapy associated with improved anemia among HIV-infected women.
abstract: Anemia is common during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and is associated with increased mortality. We conducted a study to examine the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on anemia in a multicenter cohort of HIV-positive women, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemiology Research (HER) Study. Among women receiving HAART (n = 188), non-HAART monotherapy or combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) (n = 111), or who had no reported treatment (n = 62), the prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin, <120 g/L) at baseline was 38.3, 36.9, and 43.6%, respectively (p = 0.58) and at 1-year follow-up was 26.1%, 36.9%, 45.2%, respectively (p = 0.01); mean hemoglobin at baseline was 125 +/- 16, 122 +/- 16, and 122 +/- 18 g/L, respectively (p = 0.29) and at 1-year follow-up was 128 +/- 14, 123 +/- 16, and 119 +/- 20 g/L, respectively (p < 0.0001). Adjusted linear regression models showed that HAART was associated with an increase of hemoglobin of 0.20 g/L per month (p = 0.007). After 1 year of treatment, HAART was associated with a 32% reduction in anemia among HIV-infected women (p = 0.01), whereas there was no significant change in the prevalence of anemia among those on non-HAART ART or those who had no reported treatment. HAART is associated with a large reduction in anemia among HIV-infected women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. rdsemba@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Semba
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schuman
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlahov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins