High burden of STIs among HIV-infected adults prior to initiation of ART in South Africa: a retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To assess the burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among HIV-positive South Africans in the period prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation compared with the period once on ART.

Methods

We linked the clinic records of 1465 patients currently on ART to the electronic database which records all visits to city clinics. We used a mixed effects Poisson model to assess the relative rates of occurrence of treatment seeking for an STI in the periods prior to initiation of ART and while on ART.

Results

We accumulated 4214 person-years of follow-up, divided nearly equally between the pre-ART and on-ART periods. The rate of treatment seeking for new STIs was 5.50 (95% CI 5.43 to 5.78) per 100 person-years, and individuals had on average a sevenfold

SUBMITTER: Lurie MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4233167 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature