title: The relationship between HAART use and sexual activity among HIV-positive women of reproductive age in Brazil, South Africa, and Uganda.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether current HAART use is associated with recent sexual intercourse among HIV-infected women (18-49 years) from Brazil, South Africa and Uganda. We conducted an analysis of survey data from a cross-sectional study, which enrolled 179 HIV-infected women receiving regular care from the Mbarara Hospital HIV Clinic in Uganda (n=85); the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa (n=50); and the IPEC-Fiocruz cohort in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (n=44). The primary outcome was sexual intercourse in the previous month. Secondary outcomes were protected sex and contraceptive use. We found that overall, 46% reported recent sexual intercourse. After adjusting for covariates, recent sexual intercourse was not associated with HAART use (AOR: 0.76; 95%CI: 0.34-1.72); however, it was significantly associated with being currently married, wanting to have more children and having higher HAART optimism. Among women reporting recent sexual intercourse (n=83), HAART users were significantly more likely to practice protected sex (crude OR: 3.64; 95%CI: 1.41-9.38) and non-significantly more likely to use contraceptive methods (crude OR: 2.15; 95%CI: 0.77-5.99). In summary, self-reported recent sexual intercourse is not more likely among women on HAART. Moreover, sexually active HAART users may be more likely to practice protected sex and use contraceptives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. akaida@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaida
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Andia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grinsztejn
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Strathdee
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Bangsberg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hogg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013019:South Africa; D014454:Uganda