Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23730318›Full record

ArticleThe Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale2012

The changing demographics of women living with HIV/AIDS in southern Alberta from 1982 to 2006.

Liana Hwang, Jesse Raffa, Michael John Gill

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Liana HwangDepartment of Family Medicine, Calgary Health Region, Calgary, Alberta;
Jesse Raffa
Michael John Gill

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWomen account for a growing proportion of HIV infections in Canada. This has implications with respect to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

objectiveTo describe the female population presenting for HIV care in southern Alberta and to examine the impact of opt-out pregnancy screening.

methodsA retrospective review of demographic and clinical characteristics of all patients presenting to the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic (SAC) care program from 1982 to 2006, was performed.

resultsThe proportion of newly diagnosed patients who were female increased from 7.5% before 1998 to 21.5% after 1998. Women were more likely to be from vulnerable populations, such as intravenous drug users (31.3% versus 13.7%, P<0.001), aboriginals/Métis (21.5% versus 8.7%, P<0.001), blacks (28.9% versus 4.9%, P<0.001) and immigrants (36.6% versus 14.7%, P<0.001). Heterosexual intercourse was the main risk factor for HIV acquisition (43.7%). Women were less likely than men to have requested HIV testing (20.9% versus 37.8%, P<0.001). Opt-out pregnancy screening accounted for 12.7% of HIV-positive tests in women, following its introduction in 1998. Of the women diagnosed by pregnancy screening, 62.1% were from HIV-endemic countries. There was an association between reason for testing and CD4 count at presentation; women who requested their HIV test had higher median CD4 counts than those diagnosed because of illness (478 cells/mL, interquartile range [IQR]=370 cells/mL versus 174 cells/mL, IQR=328 cells/mL, P<0.001) or pregnancy screening (478 cells/mL, IQR=370 cells/mL versus 271 cells/mL, IQR=256 cells/mL, P=0.001).

conclusionsWomen were less likely than men to have requested HIV testing and were more likely to be diagnosed by population-based screening methods. Women, especially vulnerable groups, account for a growing number and proportion of newly diagnosed HIV infections in Alberta. The implications of expanded screening in this population merit further consideration.

Indexed as

HIV/AIDSPregnancy screeningTesting behavioursWomen

Identifiers

PMID23730318
PMCPMC3403669

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