TY - JOUR
T1 - Syphilis co-infection does not affect HIV disease progression
AU - Weintrob, A. C.
AU - Gu, W.
AU - Qin, J.
AU - Robertson, J.
AU - Ganeson, A.
AU - Crum-Cianflone, N. F.
AU - Landrum, M. L.
AU - Wortmann, G. W.
AU - Follman, D.
AU - Agan, B. K.
PY - 2010/1
Y1 - 2010/1
N2 - HIV and syphilis are often seen as co-infections since they share a common mode of transmission. During episodes of syphilis, CD4 counts transiently decrease and HIV viral loads increase; however, the effect of syphilis co-infection on HIV disease progression (time to AIDS or death) is unclear. We analysed prospectively collected information on 2239 persons with estimated dates of HIV seroconversion (205 [9.2%] with confirmed syphilis and 66 [2.9%] with probable syphilis) in order to determine the effect of syphilis co-infection on HIV disease progression. In multivariate models censored at highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiation or last visit, adjusting for CD4 count, age, race, gender, and hepatitis B and C status, syphilis (confirmed + probable) was not associated with increased hazard of AIDS or death (hazard ratio 0.99, 95% CI 0.73-1.33). Treating HAART as a time-varying covariate or limiting the analysis to only confirmed syphilis cases did not significantly alter the results. Despite transient changes in CD4 counts and viral loads, syphilis does not appear to affect HIV disease progression.
AB - HIV and syphilis are often seen as co-infections since they share a common mode of transmission. During episodes of syphilis, CD4 counts transiently decrease and HIV viral loads increase; however, the effect of syphilis co-infection on HIV disease progression (time to AIDS or death) is unclear. We analysed prospectively collected information on 2239 persons with estimated dates of HIV seroconversion (205 [9.2%] with confirmed syphilis and 66 [2.9%] with probable syphilis) in order to determine the effect of syphilis co-infection on HIV disease progression. In multivariate models censored at highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiation or last visit, adjusting for CD4 count, age, race, gender, and hepatitis B and C status, syphilis (confirmed + probable) was not associated with increased hazard of AIDS or death (hazard ratio 0.99, 95% CI 0.73-1.33). Treating HAART as a time-varying covariate or limiting the analysis to only confirmed syphilis cases did not significantly alter the results. Despite transient changes in CD4 counts and viral loads, syphilis does not appear to affect HIV disease progression.
KW - AIDS
KW - Cohort
KW - HIV
KW - Mortality
KW - Syphilis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=75149173984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1258/ijsa.2009.009164
DO - 10.1258/ijsa.2009.009164
M3 - Article
C2 - 19933204
AN - SCOPUS:75149173984
SN - 0956-4624
VL - 21
SP - 57
EP - 59
JO - International Journal of STD and AIDS
JF - International Journal of STD and AIDS
IS - 1
ER -