title: Immune parameters and morbidity in hard drug and human immunodeficiency virus-exposed but uninfected infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association of maternal hard drug use (injection drugs, cocaine, and opiates) on lymphocyte subsets and clinical morbidity in uninfected infants who are born to human immunodeficiency virus-infected mothers who were enrolled in the Women and Infants Transmission Study (1990-2000).
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal hard drug use was identified by self-report and/or urine toxicology. Infant evaluations occurred at birth and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 401 (28%) of the 1436 uninfected infants were born to drug-using mothers. Maternal CD4 lymphocyte percentage and RNA at delivery were not significantly different between drug users and nonusers. Infants who were born to drug-using mothers had lower mean gestational age (37.8 vs 38.5 weeks) and birth weight (2.9 vs 3.1 kg). Infants with intrauterine drug exposure had lower CD4 lymphocyte percentage over the first 4 months of life after adjusting for covariates and higher natural killer lymphocyte percentage. When the analysis was stratified by time period of entry, the incidence of clinical events was not different between infants who were born to drug users versus nonusers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal hard drug use is associated with immunologic changes in infants early in life, although these changes did not seem to be associated with increased risk of infections.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. nn45@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Neu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leighty
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adeniyi-Jones
authors.forename: Clemente
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Handelsman
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rich
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mofenson
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pitt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D009017:Morbidity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*