Neglect of attention to reproductive health in women with HIV infection: contraceptive use and unintended pregnancies in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study

Knowledge and Attitudes on Contraception and Reproductive Health in Women With HIV

Background

For reasons not fully explained to date, contraception usage among women with HIV remains low. The aim of our study was to understand attitudes toward and lifetime use of contraception among women with HIV.

Methods

We administered an anonymous, community-informed, voluntary survey to cisgender, English-speaking women with HIV (≥18 years of age) at a Southern urban HIV clinic. It included multiple choice and Likert-scale questions on reproductive health. Participants reported contraception use, recollection of provider conversations about contraception, and perceived empowerment and knowledge regarding reproductive health. We used chi-square and Fisher exact tests to compare attitudes and prior conversations about contraception by age (< vs ≥45 years), race (Black vs non-Black), and lifetime contraception use.

Results

The median age of the 114 participants was 52 years, and 62% of the women identified as Black and 31% as White. Women reported a median of 2 unique family planning methods used throughout life, with oral contraceptive pills being most the common (59%). Only 20% of women reported having ever used long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Only 56% of women recalled talking with a provider about contraception. Women of non-Black race and those who had used LARC were more likely to remember (72 vs 52%; P = .035; 87 vs 56%; P = .022; respectively). When asked about preferences, 82% of women age <45 years wanted a nondaily method, and 60% felt uncomfortable with device insertion.

Conclusions

Throughout life, participants reported using a diversity of contraceptives. Only half of women remembered a provider conversation about contraception. Understanding women's preferences regarding contraception should guide counseling.

Incidence of Childbirth, Pregnancy, Spontaneous Abortion, and Induced Abortion Among Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a Nationwide Matched Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Reproductive health in women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (WWH) has improved in recent decades. We aimed to investigate incidences of childbirth, pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and induced abortion among WWH in a nationwide, population-based, matched cohort study.

METHODS

We included all WWH aged 20-40 years treated at an HIV healthcare center in Denmark from 1995 to 2021 and a matched comparison cohort of women from the general population (WGP). We calculated incidence rates per 1000 person-years and used Poisson regression to calculate adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) of childbirth, pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and induced abortion stratified according to calendar periods (1995-2001, 2002-2008, and 2009-2021).

RESULTS

We included 1288 WWH and 12 880 WGP; 46% of WWH were of African origin, compared with 1% of WGP. Compared with WGP, WWH had a decreased incidence of childbirth (aIRR, 0.6 [95% confidence interval, .6-.7]), no difference in the incidence of pregnancy (0.9 [.8-1.0]) or spontaneous abortion (0.9 [.8-1.0]), but an increased incidence of induced abortion (1.9 [1.6-2.1]) from 1995 to 2021. The aIRRs for childbirth, pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion increased from 1995-2000 to 2009-2021, while the aIRR for induced abortion remained increased across all time periods for WWH.

CONCLUSIONS

From 1995 to 2008, the incidences of childbirth, pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion were decreased among WWH compared with WGP. From 2009 to 2021, the incidence of childbirth, pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion no longer differed among WWH compared with WGP. The incidence of induced abortions remains increased compared with WGP.

Prevention of the Vertical Transmission of HIV; A Recap of the Journey so Far

In 1989, one in four (25%) infants born to women living with HIV were infected; by the age of 2 years, there was 25% mortality among them due to HIV. These and other pieces of data prompted the development of interventions to offset vertical transmission, including the landmark Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group Study (PACTG 076) in 1994. This study reported a 67.5% reduction in perinatal HIV transmission with prophylactic antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal zidovudine. Numerous studies since then have provided compelling evidence to further optimize interventions, such that annual transmission rates of 0% are now reported by many health departments in the US and elimination has been validated in several countries around the world. Despite this success, the elimination of HIV’s vertical transmission on the global scale remains a work in progress, limited by socioeconomic factors such as the prohibitive cost of antiretrovirals. Here, we review some of the key trials underpinning the development of guidelines in the US as well as globally, and discuss the evidence through a historic lens.

Induced abortions of women living with HIV in Finland 1987-2019: a national register study

BACKGROUND

Recent data on the rate and risk factors of induced abortion among women living with HIV (WLWH) are limited. Our aim was to use Finnish national health register data to 1) determine the nationwide rate of induced abortions of WLWH in Finland during 1987-2019, 2) compare the rates of induced abortions before and after HIV diagnosis over different time periods, 3) determine the factors associated with terminating a pregnancy after HIV diagnosis, and 4) estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV at induced abortions to see whether routine testing should be implemented.

METHODS

A retrospective nationwide register study of all WLWH in Finland 1987-2019 (n = 1017). Data from several registers were combined to identify all induced abortions and deliveries of WLWH before and after HIV diagnosis. Factors associated with terminating a pregnancy were assessed with predictive multivariable logistic regression models. The prevalence of undiagnosed HIV at induced abortion was estimated by comparing the induced abortions among WLWH before HIV diagnosis to the number of induced abortions in Finland.

RESULTS

Rate of induced abortions among WLWH decreased from 42.8 to 14.7 abortions/1000 follow-up years from 1987-1997 to 2009-2019, more prominently in abortions after HIV diagnosis. After 1997 being diagnosed with HIV was not associated with an increased risk of terminating a pregnancy. Factors associated with induced abortion in pregnancies that began after HIV diagnosis 1998-2019 were being foreign-born (OR 3.09, 95% CI 1.55-6.19), younger age (OR 0.95 per year, 95% CI 0.90-1.00), previous induced abortions (OR 3.36, 95% CI 1.80-6.28), and previous deliveries (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.08-4.21). Estimated prevalence of undiagnosed HIV at induced abortion was 0.008-0.029%.

CONCLUSIONS

Rate of induced abortions among WLWH has decreased. Family planning should be discussed at every follow-up appointment. Routine testing of HIV at all induced abortions is not cost-effective in Finland due to low prevalence.

Contraceptive Use and Missed Opportunities for Family Planning Discussions in Women Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus at an HIV Clinic

The objective of this study was to examine contraception use and family planning discussions (FPD) in female people living with HIV (PLWH). A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Female PLWH were included if they were 18-44 years and received care in 2019 at an HIV clinic. 74 patients met inclusion; mean age was 35 years, 53% were white. All patients were prescribed antiretroviral therapy. 48.6% of patients had documented FPD. 64.9% of patients were using contraception; sterilization was most common (41.7%). Only five patients had a contraindication to hormonal contraception. No differences in contraception use were observed based on age, race, HIV viral load, number of visits, or past pregnancies. However, patients with documented FPD were more likely to use contraception (OR 4.55; 95% CI 1.35-15.29). Routine FPD and contraception use in female PLWH were low. Rates of sterilization were high in female PLWH. Providing quality family planning services is critical to increase contraception use and selection of the most appropriate contraception form.

Summary of 2021 Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of HIV/AIDS in HIV-infected Koreans

Since the establishment of the Committee for Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) by the Korean Society for AIDS in 2010, clinical guidelines have been prepared in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. As new research findings on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of AIDS have been published in and outside of Korea along with the development and introduction of new antiretroviral medications, a need has arisen to revise the clinical guidelines by analyzing such new data. The clinical guidelines address the initial evaluation of patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, follow-up tests, appropriate timing of medication, appropriate antiretroviral medications, treatment strategies for patients who have concurrent infections with hepatitis B or C virus, recommendations for resistance testing, treatment for patients with HIV and tuberculosis coinfections, and treatment in pregnant women. Through these clinical guidelines, the Korean Society for AIDS and the Committee for Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of HIV/AIDS contributes to overcoming AIDS by delivering latest data and treatment strategies to healthcare professionals who treat AIDS in the clinic.

Postpartum LARC discontinuation and short interval pregnancies among women with HIV: a retrospective 9-year cohort study in South Carolina

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate rates of discontinuation and short interval pregnancy among women with HIV who received a postpartum IUD or implant.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of women who had an IUD or implant placed within 3 months postpartum during a 9-year period (1/1/09 to 2/14/18). We assessed the prevalence of discontinuation within 12 months and rates of subsequent delivery within 18 months. We examined differences in these outcomes between women with and without HIV.

RESULTS

Of the 794 women who received a long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) within 3 months postpartum, most chose an IUD (85%). Twenty-one percent (165) elected for immediate postpartum placement: 119 IUDs and 46 implants. Women with HIV were more likely to receive an implant (48% vs 13%, p<.0001) and were more likely to have immediate postpartum placement (76% vs 17%, p<.0001). Women with HIV (n=50) were not more likely to remove LARC devices within 12 months of placement (38% vs 36%, p=.9), and they did not experience any short interval pregnancies.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with HIV in South Carolina were more likely than HIV-negative women to receive immediate postpartum LARC and to receive an implant. They were not more likely to discontinue LARC within 12 months nor experience short interval pregnancies.

IMPLICATIONS

Further study is needed to evaluate preferences for implants and immediate postpartum insertion among women with HIV.