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Objective: To assess cardiovascular effects of in-utero HIV and antiretroviral treatment (ART) exposure on offspring of HIV-positive mothers in Ethiopia., Design: HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnancies were identified from a prospective cohort of women recruited at their first antenatal care visit in Ethiopia, using a nested case-control design., Methods: Fetal standard ultrasound and echocardiography were performed at 2237 weeks of pregnancy to assess fetal biometry and cardiac structure. Postnatal cardiovascular evaluation, including echocardiography and vascular assessment, was performed at 6 months of age. Cardiovascular data were correlated to HIV serostatus, antiretroviral drug exposure and HIV-unrelated maternal characteristics., Results: Fetuses from 29 HIV-positive and 67 HIV-negative women paired by gestational age at scan were included. Among HIV-positive women, 25 were on ART before conception, and 4 initiated ART during pregnancy. Estimated fetal weight was similar in both groups [mean 1873 g (standard deviation; SD 569) vs. 1839 g (SD 579) P = 0.79, respectively]. Fetal cardiac morphometry was similar with regard to maternal HIV serostatus: cardiothoracic ratio mean 0.26 (SD 0.05) vs. 0.25 (SD 0.06), P = 0.48; and septal wall thickness mean 4.03 mm (SD 0.58) vs. 3.98 mm (SD 0.70), P = 0.94. No significant cardiovascular differences were detected postnatally according to maternal HIV serostatus: septal wall thickness mean 5.46 mm (SD 0.65) vs. 5.49 (SD 0.89); P = 0.896; isovolumic relaxation time 55.08 ms (SD 6.57) vs. 56.56 (SD 6.74); P = 0.359., Conclusion: In offspring of Ethiopian women, intrauterine exposure to HIV and ART were not associated with cardiovascular changes from fetal life up to infanthood., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Knowledge on tuberculosis (TB) infection epidemiology in women of reproductive age living in TB-endemic areas is limited. We used a composite definition of TB infection in a cohort of pregnant women recruited in an Ethiopian city as a model for TB exposure patterns, and to identify factors associated with TB infection., Methods: Women seeking antenatal care at public health facilities underwent structured interviews, physical examination, and QuantiFERON-TB Gold-Plus (QFT) testing. Women with symptoms compatible with TB disease, and all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women, were investigated for active TB by sputum bacteriological testing. TB infection (TB+) was defined as either positive QFT (≥ 0.35 IU/mL), self-reported previous active TB, or current active TB. Associations between TB infection and clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics were tested in multiple logistic regression analysis., Results: Among 1834 participants, 679 (37.0%) met criteria for TB+ (80 [4.4%] previous active TB, 5 [0.3%] current active TB, and 594 [32.4%] QFT-positive without previous or current active TB). Age (annual adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.069 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.045-1.093]) and HIV infection (AOR, 1.43 [95% CI, 1.033-1.988]) were independently associated with TB+. The relationship with increasing age was only observed in HIV-negative women, and translated to an estimated annual risk of TB infection of 2.1% in HIV-negative women., Conclusions: TB infection in women of reproductive age in Ethiopia was independently associated with HIV infection and increasing age, suggesting exposure to contagious TB and continuous acquisition of TB infection in this population., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.)