Permissive and protective factors associated with presence, level, and longitudinal pattern of cervicovaginal HIV shedding.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cervicovaginal HIV level (CV-VL) influences HIV transmission. Plasma viral load (PVL) correlates with CV-VL, but discordance is frequent. We evaluated how PVL, behavioral, immunological, and local factors/conditions individually and collectively correlate with CV-VL.

Methods

CV-VL was measured in the cervicovaginal lavage fluid (CVL) of 481 HIV-infected women over 976 person-visits in a longitudinal cohort study. We correlated identified factors with CV-VL at individual person-visits and detectable/undetectable PVL strata by univariate and multivariate linear regression and with shedding pattern (never, intermittent, persistent ≥3 shedding visits) in 136 women with ≥3 visits by ordinal logistic regression.

Results

Of 959 person-visits, 450 (46.9%) with avai

SUBMITTER: Homans J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3334315 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature