Small-for-gestational-age births in pregnant women with HIV, due to severity of HIV disease, not antiretroviral therapy

Objectives:  To determine rate and factors associated with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births to women with HIV.

Methods:  Prospective data were collected from 183 pregnant women with HIV in an urban HIV prenatal clinic, 2000-2011. An SGA birth was defined as less than the 10th or 3rd percentile of birth weight distribution based upon cut points developed using national vital record data. Bivariate analysis utilized chi-squared and t-tests, and multiple logistic regression analyses were used.

Results:  The prevalence of SGA was 31.2% at the 10th and 12.6% at the 3rd percentile. SGA at the 10th (OR 2.77; 95% CI, 1.28-5.97) and 3rd (OR 3.64; 95% CI, 1.12-11.76) percentiles was associated with cigarette smoking. Women with CD4 count>200 cells/mm3 at the first prenatal visit were less likely to have an SGA birth at the 3rd percentile (OR 0.29; 95% CI, 0.10-0.86). Women taking NNRTI were less likely to have an SGA infant at the 10th (OR 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.75) and 3rd (OR 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.91) percentiles compared to those women on PIs.

Conclusions:  In this cohort with high rates of SGA, severity of HIV disease, not ART, was associated with SGA births after adjusting for sociodemographic, medication, and disease severity.