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Predictors of Mortality among HIV-infected Women in Kigali, Rwanda
- Christina P. Lindan, MD;
- Susan Allen, MD, DTM&H;
- Antoine Serufilira, MD;
- Alan R. Lifson, MD, MPH;
- Philippe Van de Perre, MD;
- Amy Chen-Rundle, MSc;
- Jean Batungwanayo, MD;
- Francois Nsengumuremyi, MD;
- Joseph Bogaerts, MD; and
- Stephen Hulley, MD, MPH
Abstract
▪ Objective: To better characterize the natural history of disease due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in African women.
▪ Design: Prospective cohort study over a 2-year follow-up period.
▪ Participants: A total of 460 HIV-seropositive women and a comparison cohort of HIV-seronegative women recruited from prenatal and pediatric clinics in Kigali, Rwanda in 1988.
▪ Measurements: Clinical signs and symptoms of HIV disease, AIDS, and mortality.
▪ Main Results: Follow-up data at 2 years were available for 93% of women who were still alive. At enrollment, many seropositive women reported symptoms listed in the World Health Organization (WHO) clinical case definition of AIDS, but these were nonspecific and often improved over time. The 2-year mortality among HIV-infected women by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was 7% (95% Cl, 5% to 10%) overall, and 21% (Cl, 8% to 34%) for the 40 women who fulfilled the WHO case definition of AIDS at entry. In comparison, the 2-year mortality in women not infected with HIV was only 0.3% (Cl, 0% to 7%). Independent baseline predictors of mortality in seropositive women by Cox proportional hazards modeling were, in order of descending risk factor prevalence: a body mass index of 21 kg/m2 or less (relative hazard, 2.3; Cl, 1.1 to 4.8), low income (relative hazard, 2.3; Cl, 1.1 to 4.5), an erythrocyte sedimentation rate exceeding 60 mm/h (relative hazard, 4.9; Cl, 2.2 to 10.9), chronic diarrhea (relative hazard, 2.6; Cl, 1.1 to 5.7), a history of herpes zoster (relative hazard 5.3; Cl, 2.5 to 11.4), and oral Candida (relative hazard, 7.3; Cl, 1.6 to 33.3). Human immunodeficiency virus disease was the cause of death in 38 of the 39 HIV-positive women who died, but only 25 met the WHO definition of AIDS before death.
▪ Conclusions: Human immunodeficiency virus disease now accounts for 90% of all deaths among childbearing urban Rwandan women. Many symptomatic seropositive patients may show some clinical improvement and should not be denied routine medical care. Easily diagnosed signs and symptoms and inexpensive laboratory tests can be used in Africa to identify those patients with a particularly good or bad prognosis.
Article and Author Information
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From the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and the University of California at San Francisco, California; Projet San Francisco, the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali, the Rwandan National AIDS Program, and Ministry of Health, Kigali, Rwanda. For current author addresses, see end of text.
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Grant Support: By the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant A123980, and by the National Institute of Mental Health grant MH42459.
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Requests for Reprints: Christina P. Lindan, MD, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California at San Francisco, 74 New Montgomery Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105.
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Current Author Addresses: Drs. Lindan and Hulley: Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California at San Francisco, 74 New Montgomery Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105.
Dr. Allen: Projet San Francisco, BP 780, Kigali, Rwanda.
Dr. Lifson: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, HSW 1600, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94131.
Dr. Van de Perre: Rwandan National AIDS Program, Kigali, Rwanda.
Drs. Serufilira, Batungwanayo, Nsengumuremyi, and Bogaerts: Centre Hospitalier de Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda.
Ms. Chen-Rundle: Genentech Inc., Biostatistics Mailstop 66, 460 San Bruno Boulevard, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
- ©1992 American College of Physicians
