Preeclampsia in HIV Positive Pregnant Women on Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy: A Matched Cohort Study

Background: Some studies have suggested that the risk of preeclampsia in HIV positive pregnant women has increased since the use of HAART became routine. There is also a concern that HIV positive women on HAART have a higher risk of adverse fetal outcomes compared to HIV negative women. Methods: In this matched retrospective cohort study, the risk of preeclampsia and adverse fetal outcomes was examined in 91 HIV positive pregnant women receiving HAART and 273 HIV negative pregnant women. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounding factors. Results: The risk of preeclampsia and preterm birth did not differ significantly between HIV positive and HIV negative women. HIV treated with HAART was an independent predictor for giving birth to a low birthweight baby. Conclusions: HIV positive women on HAART do not have a higher risk of preeclampsia. They do however have a higher risk for lower birthweight infants.MAS