Quality of life among Ghanaian adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV: a mixed methods study

In Sub-Saharan Africa, increasing numbers of children with perinatally acquired HIV (PAHIV) are living into adolescence. These adolescents face numerous unique challenges such as parent illness/death and years of medication use. Optimizing care for these youth requires an understanding of the factors that contribute to physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, and quality of life (QOL). This mixed methods study collected quantitative questionnaire data from 40 Ghanaian adolescents with PAHIV (50% female, 12–19 years old) who received care through an adolescent HIV clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. The study also presents results from qualitative interviews conducted with 20 adolescents. Results from quantitative analyses suggested that a significant number of participants were not virally suppressed (67%) and participants reported barriers to treatment adherence, limited social support, concerns about disclosure and HIV-related stigma, limited resources, and lower than expected QOL. Salient themes from the qualitative analyses included limited understanding of how HIV is transmitted, the interplay between food insecurity and treatment adherence and the need for developing safe relationships through which adolescents can discuss their illness without fear of accidental disclosure of their HIV status.     

Profiles of caregiving behaviors among children and adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV

Although parenting behaviors are widely considered an important factor in the adjustment of children and adolescents with chronic physical health needs, few studies have addressed this topic as it pertains to youth with perinatally-acquired human immunodeficiency virus (PHIV). We examined profiles of child-centeredness, control through guilt, consistent discipline, and detachment, and whether these profiles differed in terms of parent- and youth-reported psychiatric disorder symptoms in a cohort of HIV infected youth (N?=?314). Latent profile analyses of caregiving behaviors were conducted separately for children (6–12 years) and adolescents (13–18 years). Two profiles were identified among children: (a) moderate caregiving (87%, n?=?130) and (b) high detachment caregiving (13%, n?=?19), and three profiles were identified among adolescents: (a) moderate caregiving (55%, n?=?88), (b) high detachment caregiving (19%, n?=?30), and (c) high control through guilt caregiving (26%, n?=?42). The high detachment and high control through guilt caregiving profiles displayed higher levels of parent-and youth-reported symptoms than the moderate caregiving profile. These findings suggest that caregiver behaviors of PHIV youth vary as a function of children’s developmental period and differ in terms of youth psychological symptoms.     

The psychosocial issues of children with perinatally acquired HIV disease becoming adolescents: a growing challenge for providers

Today, providers caring for children who have perinatally acquired HIV disease treat them differently than they did less than a decade ago. As our knowledge of HIV and its treatment have grown, so have we and so have our children. We are seeing the first wave of adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV disease. This increased longevity has given new meaning to past challenges such as treatment regimens, medication adherence, disclosure, and permanency planning previously faced by providers, children, and their families. New challenges, such as adolescent treatment decisions, relationships, intimacy, college, and careers have been added to the list. As a prediatric nurse practitioner having "grown up" with perinatally acquired HIV disease in the last decade, I reflect on past challenges and offer a perspective on those that lie ahead. A multidisciplinary, family-centered support group intervention that was developed at our AIDS Center Program to assist families, older children, adolescents, and providers in facing these challenges is described.     

Development of a transition readiness score for adolescents living with perinatally-acquired HIV and transitioning to adult care

AIDS and Behavior - We created a transition readiness score for adolescents with perinatally-acquired HIV as they transition from pediatric to adult care. Of the 199 adolescents who transitioned to...     

Intimate relationships in young adults with perinatally acquired HIV: a qualitative study of strategies used to manage HIV disclosure.

An increasing number of children born with perinatally acquired HIV (PAH) are surviving into late adolescence and early adulthood. At this developmental stage, forming and sustaining intimate relationships is important. Young adults with PAH face both normative challenges and additional, HIV-related, relationship stressors. One key issue is the decision about whether and how to share their HIV status with others. Being able to disclose one's HIV status to sexual partners may reduce the risk of onward HIV transmission but is associated with the fear of rejection. There has been little research on how young people with PAH manage such disclosure-related stressors in intimate relationships. This study examined how disclosure challenges are managed by young adults with PAH in the UK within their intimate relationships. Seven participants (five females and two males) currently or previously in an intimate relationship, aged 18–23 years, were recruited from a UK hospital clinic. The majority of participants were of sub-Saharan African origins. They took part in in-depth interviews, with data analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four themes were elicited: (1) decisions about starting, continuing or resuming relationships shaped by disclosure, (2) disclosing early to avoid the pain of future rejection, (3) using condoms to avoid disclosure and (4) testing likely partner reactions to disclosure. The study revealed the significant extent to which HIV disclosure affected the experience of relationships in this population. Interventions to support adolescents and young adults with PAH to disclose to their partners should be developed alongside guidance for professionals. Future research should include older samples of adults with PAH and studies in sub-Saharan African settings.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma in a teenager with perinatally acquired HIV Infection without hepatitis B or C coinfection: a case report

A 19-year-old male with perinatally acquired HIV infection and AIDS (clinical stage 3) presented with a 9.1?×?5.0?cm hepatic mass. The resected mass was determined to be a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without metastasis. The patient did not have active hepatitis B or C coinfection, as revealed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nor other risk factors for development of cirrhosis or HCC, and comprises only the second explicitly stated case of an HIV-positive individual developing HCC in the absence of concomitant hepatitis virus infection or other risk factors. This case illustrates the fact that as survival of perinatally infected individuals increases in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, new associations between HIV infection and other disease processes may be uncovered.     

Assessment of liver disease by non-invasive methods in perinatally infected Brazilian adolescents and young adults living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

IntroductionEffective and long-term combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has decreased morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals. Despite treatment advances, HIV-infected children continue to develop noninfectious conditions, including liver fibrosis.MethodsCross-sectional study designed to identify liver fibrosis in HIV-infected adolescents and young adults, in an outpatients clinic of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division at Escola Paulista de Medicina/Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), diagnosed by noninvasive methods (liver elastography–FibroScan®, APRI and FIB4). Variables examined included demographics, clinical, laboratories, HIV treatment. All participants underwent FibroScan® to measure liver parenchyma elasticity. Values equal to above 7.0 kPa were interpreted as the presence of significant liver fibrosis. Two different biomarkers of liver fibrosis were employed: the AST-to-Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) and the Fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4). APRI values above 1.5 have been considered as levels of clinically significant liver fibrosis and FIB-4 values above 3.25 suggested the presence of advanced fibrosis.ResultsBetween August 2014 and March 2017, the study enrolled 97 patients, age 10–27 years old, fourteen of 97 subjects (14.4%) presented liver stiffness (≥7 kPa) detected by the liver elastography. No patient had APRI> 1.5. No patient had FIB4 value > 3.25. The only isolated laboratory parameter that could be significantly associated with high liver stiffness was thrombocytopenia (p = 0.022, Fisher's exact test).ConclusionLiver stiffness was identified in 14.4% (14/97) of this cohort by liver elastography. Liver disease in HIV-infected adolescents and young adults manifests itself silently, so should be routinely investigated.     

Longitudinal assessment of metabolic abnormalities in adolescents and young adults with HIV-infection acquired perinatally or in early childhood

Metabolic complications of HIV pose challenges for health maintenance among young adults who acquired HIV in early childhood. Between July 2004 and July 2009, we evaluated 47 HIV-infected subjects who acquired HIV in early life. Participants completed glucose tolerance testing; insulin, lipid, urine albumin, and creatinine determinations; and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans. Longitudinal data were available for 39 subjects; duration of follow-up was 26.4 ± 16.8 months. At baseline, participants were 17.1 ± 3.9 years old; and duration of antiretroviral therapy was 12.7 ± 3.4 years. CD4 count was 658 ± 374 cells per cubic millimeter, and 55% had undetectable viral load. Impaired glucose tolerance was present in 15%; 33% had insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance >4.0). Furthermore, 52% had triglycerides of at least 150 mg/dL, 36% had high-density lipoprotein cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL, 18% had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of at least 130 mg/dL, and 25% had total cholesterol of at least 200 mg/dL. Microalbuminuria was present in 15% of participants and was inversely correlated with CD4% (P = .001). During follow-up, more than one third remained insulin resistant; lipid parameters tended to improve. There were significant increases in body mass index (P = .0002), percentage leg fat (P = .008), and percentage trunk fat (P = .002). Impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and microalbuminuria are common among young adults with HIV. Long-term exposure to therapy may translate into substantial persistent metabolic risk.     

Prevalence of oral lesions in Mexican children with perinatally acquired HIV: association with immunologic status,viral load,and gender

It has been proposed that HIV-related oral lesions (HIV-ROL) have a significant diagnostic and prognostic value for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in adult patients. However, in HIV-infected children, the relation between HIV-ROL and immune and virologic status is not well established. The principal objective of this paper is to assess the prevalence of HIV-related oral lesions (HIV-ROL) in Mexican HIV-infected children in relation to their immunologic status, viral load, and gender. Forty-eight HIV-infected children from Immunodeficiency Clinic, Child's Hospital of México, México City, were examined for oral pathology. The data obtained from medical records were: name, gender, age, route of infection, CD4 lymphocytes cells count/mL, HIV-1-RNA level of copies/mL (viral load), and type and time of treatment. The prevalence of HIV-ROL was 29.2%. Oral candidosis was the most prevalent oral lesion (20.8%) followed by periodontal and gingival disease (4.2%), herpes simplex (2.1%), and parotid enlargement (2.1%). There was no association between the prevalence of HIV-ROL and gender, immunological status, or viral load. The most frequent clinical form of oral candidosis was erythematous candidosis (12.5%, N = 6). Our results do not suggest a direct relationship between prevalence of HIV-ROL, severe immunodepression, and/or viral load > 100000 copies in this population.     

Improvement in lipids after switch to boosted atazanavir or darunavir in children/adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV on older protease inhibitors: results from the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study

Objectives

Dyslipidaemia is common in perinatally HIV‐infected (PHIV) youth receiving protease inhibitors (PIs). Few studies have evaluated longitudinal lipid changes in PHIV youth after switch to newer PIs.

Methods

We compared longitudinal changes in fasting lipids [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and TC:HDL‐C ratio] in PHIV youth enrolled in the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) Adolescent Master Protocol (AMP) study who switched to atazanavir/ritonavir (ATV/r)‐ or darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r)‐based antiretroviral therapy (ART) from an older PI‐based ART and those remaining on an older PI. Generalized estimating equation models were fitted to assess the association of a switch to ATV/r‐ or DRV/r‐based ART with the rate of change in lipids, adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

From 2007 to 2014, 47 PHIV children/adolescents switched to ATV/r or DRV/r, while 120 remained on an older PI [primarily lopinavir/r (72%) and nelfinavir (24%)]. Baseline age ranged from 7 to 21 years. After adjustment for age, Tanner stage, race/ethnicity, and HIV RNA level, a switch to ATV/r or DRV/r was associated with a more rapid annual rate of decline in the ratio of TC:HDL‐C. (β = ?0.12; P = 0.039) than remaining on an older PI. On average, TC declined by 4.57 mg/dL/year (P = 0.057) more in the switch group. A switch to ATV/r or DRV/r was not associated with the rate of HDL‐C, LDL‐C, or TG change.

Conclusions

A switch to ATV/r or DRV/r may result in more rapid reduction in TC and the TC:HDL‐C ratio in PHIV youth, potentially impacting long‐term cardiovascular disease risk.

     

Sexual risk reduction needs of adolescents living with HIV in a clinical care setting

As anti-retroviral therapy becomes increasingly available, young people living with HIV need tailored support to adopt healthy sexual behaviors. There has been a gap in the availability of culturally appropriate techniques for secondary prevention and sexual risk reduction in this target group. This formative study assessed sexual and reproductive health needs and problems, as well as determinants of sexual risk-taking among young people living with HIV aged 11-21 years attending the Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic in Kampala, Uganda. Theoretical guidance was provided by the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model. Socio-demographic and selected psychosexual data were assessed using a brief anonymous questionnaire. A total of 75 young people living with HIV participated in eight focus group discussions. In addition, one focus group was conducted with adult key informants (service providers). About a quarter of the young participants reported prior or current sexual experience. The study revealed knowledge gaps relating to reproductive health, HIV transmission, and contraceptive methods. Motivations for protection included hope for the future, good counseling, and fear of the consequences of sexual activity such as unwanted pregnancies. Barriers to adopting preventive behaviors included peer pressure, poverty, HIV-related stigma, ignorance of their partners, alcohol use, and a desire to have children for the older ones. Young sero-positive people in this setting lacked specific behavioral skills, such as disclosure of HIV status to their sexual partners, this being closely linked to fear of rejection and stigma. HIV-positive youths need support in developing the appropriate behavioral skills to adopt healthy sexual behaviors. Interventions in this field need to be developmentally appropriate and tailored to young people's specific needs. Structural interventions should at the same time address and reduce HIV-related stigma and socio-economic needs of young people living with HIV.     

Depression,anxiety, and posttraumatic stress as predictors of immune functioning: differences between youth with behaviorally and perinatally acquired HIV

ABSTRACT

Youth living with HIV (YLWH) face significant mental health problems, namely depression, anxiety, and PTSD with rates of these disorders higher than in the general population. This study explored the relationship between symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD and biological markers among a sample of 145 YLWH ages 13–25 years. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Item Scale (GAD-7), and Primary Care-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen (PC-PTSD). Biological markers included CD4 count and viral load (VL) abstracted from medical records. Findings revealed a relationship between depression and anxiety and CD4 count as well as anxiety and VL. The relationship between depression and anxiety and CD4 count and anxiety and VL was moderated by transmission mode (i.e., behavioral versus perinatal). For youth perinatally infected, greater psychological symptoms of depression and anxiety were associated with a decline in CD4 count and increase in VL, but this was not true for youth with behaviorally acquired HIV. These findings point to the need for individualized mental health prevention and intervention services for YLWH.     

Mothers living with HIV/AIDS: mental,physical, and family functioning

There has been little work assessing the psychological condition of mothers living with HIV, their home life, and how these women function as caretakers with a chronic illness. In this study, interviews were conducted with 135 HIV symptomatic or AIDS diagnosed mothers of young, well children aged 6-11. White mothers were less likely to be severely ill (CD4 counts of <500) than all other race/ethnic groups. The mean level of depression was elevated among this sample, and was associated with poorer cohesion in the family, and with poorer family sociability. Depression also was associated with the mothers being less able to perform tasks that they typically do; children of more depressed mothers had increased responsibilities for household tasks.     

Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms

Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms in a large, representative sample of South African adolescents living with HIV. HIV-positive adolescents (n?=?1060), who received care in public health facilities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, completed measures of internalising and externalising symptoms. Hypothesised correlates included HIV and health-related factors (physical health, mode of infection, medication side-effects, disclosure, stigma), health-service related factors (negative interactions with clinic staff, clinic support group), interpersonal factors (abuse, bullying victimisation, social support), parenting-related factors (orphanhood, positive parenting, parental monitoring, parent communication), as well as individual and demographic-related factors (self-efficacy, age, gender, urban/rural location, poverty). Correlates operating across a variety of contexts were identified. Bullying victimisation, self-efficacy, and positive parenting may be particularly salient intervention targets as they were associated with better outcomes on most or all mental health measures, can be addressed without directly targeting adolescents living with HIV (reducing the chances of accidental exposure and stigma), and are associated with better adolescent mental health in South Africa more generally.