title: Over-reported peripheral neuropathy symptoms in a cohort of HIV infected and uninfected Rwandan women: the need for validated locally appropriate questionnaires.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Peripheral neuropathy symptoms (PNS) are commonly manifested in HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals, although data are limited on the prevalence and predictors of PNS in HIV+ patients from sub-Saharan Africa.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence and predictors of PNS in HIV+ and HIV-uninfected (HIV-) Rwandan women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were analysed from 936 (710 HIV+ and 226 HIV-) women from the Rwanda Women Interassociation Study and Assessment (RWISA), an observational prospective cohort study investigating the effectiveness and toxicity of ART in HIV+ women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 936 enrolled, 920 (98.3%) were included in this analysis with 44% of HIV- and 52% of the HIV+ women reporting PNS (p=0.06). CD4+ count was not associated with PNS, although there was a non-significant trend towards higher prevalence in those with lower CD4+ counts. For the HIV- women, only alcohol and co-trimoxazole use were independently associated with PNS. WHO HIV stage IV illness and albumin ≤ 3.5 were associated with PNS in HIV+ women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of peripheral neuropathy symptoms reported in this cohort of HIV-infected African women seems implausible, and rather suggests that the screening tool for peripheral neuropathy in culturally diverse African settings be locally validated.
authors.affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and Kigali Health Institute, Kigali, Rwanda; dtumusime@khi.ac.rw.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tumusiime
authors.affiliation: King Faisal Hospital Kigali (KFH, K) Kigali Rwanda; emusabeyezu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Musabeyezu
authors.affiliation: Regional Alliance for Sustainable Development (RASD), Kigali Rwanda, eugene.mutimura@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mutimurah
authors.affiliation: The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ USA drhoover@stat.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, NY, USA, qshi@data2solutions.com.
authors.forename: Qiuhu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: King Faisal Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda, erudakemwa@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rudakemwa
authors.affiliation: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali (CHUK), Rwanda, ndacyayisengav@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Victorien
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ndacyayisenga
authors.affiliation: RASD, Kigali Rwanda, dusingize@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jean Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dusingize
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Therapeutic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand; aimee.stewart@wits.ac.za.
authors.forename: Jean D'Amour
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sinayobye
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Therapeutic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand; aimee.stewart@wits.ac.za.
authors.forename: Aimee
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Deputy Executive Director, Witwatersrand Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WRHI), Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, fventer@wrhi.ac.za.
authors.forename: Francois W D
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Venter
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY USA, kathryn.anastos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anastos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D015497:HIV-1; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012432:Rwanda / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV and Rwandan women; Peripheral neuropathy symptoms