Potential risk factors identified in this study from China include inconsistent condom use, relatively frequent sex, and lack of a switch to second-line antiretroviral therapy.
How common is HIV transmission within couples, and what are the risk factors? To find out, investigators studied 1927 married serodiscordant couples in China from 2006 through 2008. In each couple, one partner had been infected through plasma transfusion; the other underwent HIV testing every 6 months and completed questionnaires about sexual risk behaviors. Seventy-one percent of the infected partners were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Of these, 81% were still receiving their initial first-line regimen, whereas 19% had switched (mainly because of adverse effects).
During the study, 84 individuals seroconverted, for an incidence rate of 1.7 per 100 person-years. In univariate analysis, risk was significantly elevated among those wh…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardUNAIDS; WHO; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Population Council
Grant/Research SupportNIH; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Tides Foundation/MAC AIDS Fund; USAID; South African National Research Foundation; European Union; South African Medical Research Council
Editorial BoardsNew England Journal of Medicine; AIDS Reviews; AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses; mBio; Indian Journal of Medical Research; JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardUNAIDS; WHO; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Population Council
Grant/Research SupportNIH; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Tides Foundation/MAC AIDS Fund; USAID; South African National Research Foundation; European Union; South African Medical Research Council
Editorial BoardsNew England Journal of Medicine; AIDS Reviews; AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses; mBio; Indian Journal of Medical Research; JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes