Browsing by Author "Bellan, Steven E."
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- ItemThe effect of sexually transmitted co-infections on HIV viral load amongst individuals on antiretroviral therapy : a systematic review and meta-analysis(BioMed Central, 2015-06) Champredon, David; Bellan, Steven E.; Delva, Wim; Hunt, Spencer; Shi, Chyun-Fung; Smieja, Marek; Dushoff, JonathanBackground: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) markedly reduces HIV transmission, and testing and treatment programs have been advocated as a method for decreasing transmission at the population level. Little is known, however, about the extent to which sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which increase the HIV infectiousness of untreated individuals, may decrease the effectiveness of treatment as prevention. Methods: We searched major bibliographic databases to August 12th, 2014 and identified studies reporting differences in HIV transmission rate or in viral load between individuals on ART who either were or were not co-infected with another STI. We used hierarchical Bayesian models to estimate viral load differences between individuals with and without STI co-infections. Results: The search strategy retrieved 1630 unique citations of which 14 studies (reporting on 4607 HIV viral load measurements from 2835 unique individuals) met the inclusion criteria. We did not find any suitable studies that estimated transmission rates directly in both groups. Our meta-analysis of HIV viral load measurements among treated individuals did not find a statistically significant effect of STI co-infection; viral loads were, on average, 0.11 log10 (95 % CI −0.62 to 0.83) higher among co-infected versus non-co-infected individuals. Conclusions: Direct evidence about the effects of STI co-infection on transmission from individuals on ART is very limited. Available data suggests that the average effect of STI co-infection on HIV viral load in individuals on ART is less than 1 log10 difference, and thus unlikely to decrease the effectiveness of treatment as prevention. However, there is not enough data to rule out the possibility that particular STIs pose a larger threat.
- ItemImpact of age and sex on CD4+ cell count trajectories following treatment initiation : an analysis of the Tanzanian HIV treatment database(Public Library of Science, 2016) Means, Arianna R.; Risher, Kathryn A.; Ujeneza, Eva L.; Maposa, Innocent; Nondi, Joseph; Bellan, Steven E.Objective: New guidelines recommend that all HIV-infected individuals initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART) immediately following diagnosis. This study describes how immune reconstitution varies by gender and age to help identify poorly reconstituting subgroups and inform targeted testing initiatives. Design Longitudinal data from the outpatient monitoring system of the National AIDS Control Program in Tanzania. Methods: An asymptotic nonlinear mixed effects model was fit to post-treatment CD4+ cell count trajectories, allowing for fixed effects of age and sex, and an age by sex interaction. Results: Across 220,544 clinic visits from 32,069 HIV-infected patients, age- and sex-specific average CD4+ cell count at ART initiation ranged from 83–136 cells/mm3, long term asymptotic CD4+ cell count ranged from 301–389 cells/mm3, and time to half of maximal CD4+ reconstitution ranged from 3.57–5.68 months. CD4+ cell count at ART initiation and asymptotic CD4+ cell count were 1.28 (95% CI: 1.18–1.40) and 1.25 (95% CI: 1.20–1.31) times higher, respectively, for females compared to males in the youngest age group (19–29 years). Older patients started treatment at higher CD4+ counts but experienced slower CD4+ recovery than younger adults. Treatment initiation at greater CD4+ cell counts was correlated with greater asymptotic CD4+ cell counts within all sex and age groups. Conclusion: Older adults should initiate care early in disease progression because total immune reconstitution potential and rate of reconstitution appears to decrease with age. Targeted HIV testing and care linkage remains crucial for patient populations who tend to initiate treatment at lower CD4+ cell counts, including males and younger adults.