HIV-1 and immunological changes during pregnancy: a comparison between HIV-1-seropositive and HIV-1-seronegative women in Nairobi, Kenya.

ABSTRACT

PIP: The impact of HIV-1 on pregnancy was investigated in a prospective case-control study of 416 pregnant HIV-infected women and 407 age- and parity-matched pregnant HIV-seronegative women from Nairobi, Kenya. No relationship existed between gestational age (14-30 weeks) and any hematologic or immunologic variable studied. In both cases and controls, the CD4 percentage (but not absolute count) was lower postpartum than during pregnancy, while CD8 absolute counts and percentages were significantly higher in the postpartum period. The differences between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in changes during pregnancy in CD4 and CD8 cells and their ratio were not statistically significant. These findings fail to provide support for a synergistic effect of HIV-1 and pregnancy on immune function. Further studies are needed, however, to assess the long-term effects of pregnancy in HIV-infected women, to determine the impact of pregnancy at different stages of HIV disease, and to establish normal and HIV-1-related T-lymphocyte subset profiles during the entire course of pregnancy in African women.