Health and Survival of Children HIV-exposed and Uninfected in the UK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Health and Survival of Children HIV-exposed and Uninfected in the UK
IRAS ID
291015
Contact name
Claire Thorne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 10 months, 30 days
Research summary
Treating a woman living with HIV in pregnancy greatly reduces the risk of her transmitting the infection to her baby as well as preventing disease progression. The success of prevention of vertical (mother-to-child) transmission programmes worldwide has been driven by antenatal HIV screening and widespread distribution of antiretroviral drugs in pregnancy. Whilst the number of children who are vertically infected during pregnancy is dramatically decreasing, the population of children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected (CHEU) is increasing.
There is evidence to suggest that CHEU have poorer growth, morbidity and mortality outcomes than children who are HIV-unexposed and uninfected. Research on the effect of exposures (e.g. to HIV and antiretrovirals) during gestation and in the period following birth is relatively limited in general, but particularly from high-income countries, despite more than 25 years having passed since antiretrovirals were first used in pregnancy.
This application is for a PhD research project. The student will use data from a UK-based surveillance study collecting obstetric data on the pregnancies of women with a known diagnosis of HIV, and paediatric data on their infants. This population-based data will be used to explore in utero exposures, maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of CHEU over time. The project will also describe and evaluate cancer and death incidence in this population using a pre-existing nested data linkage study within the surveillance study and NHS Digital.
The project will be the first to evaluate the long-term safety of antiretroviral use in pregnancy for CHEU in the UK and provide an evidence base for CHEU health inequalities as they pertain to birth, cancer and mortality outcomes in the UK.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0040
Date of REC Opinion
9 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion