Influence of sex hormones, HIV status, and concomitant sexually transmitted infection on cervicovaginal inflammation

KG Ghanem, N Shah, RS Klein… - The Journal of …, 2005 - academic.oup.com
KG Ghanem, N Shah, RS Klein, KH Mayer, JD Sobel, DL Warren, DJ Jamieson, AC Duerr
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2005academic.oup.com
The impact of demographic characteristics, phase of the menstrual cycle, use of hormonal
contraceptives, and concomitant lower genital-tract infections on cervicovaginal
inflammatory cells was assessed in 967 women, 654 of whom were infected with human
immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) fluid was evaluated for
total white blood cell (WBC), polymorphonuclear leukocyte, and monocyte counts. HIV-1
infection was not associated with statistically significant differences in numbers of …
Abstract
The impact of demographic characteristics, phase of the menstrual cycle, use of hormonal contraceptives, and concomitant lower genital-tract infections on cervicovaginal inflammatory cells was assessed in 967 women, 654 of whom were infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) fluid was evaluated for total white blood cell (WBC), polymorphonuclear leukocyte, and monocyte counts. HIV-1 infection was not associated with statistically significant differences in numbers of inflammatory cells in CVL fluid except in 1 group—HIV-1-infected women with Chlamydia trachomatis infection had a 0.43 log10 higher WBC count than their HIV-uninfected, chlamydia-positive counterparts (P = .04). Younger age and use of progesterone-based hormonal contraceptives were independently associated with increased numbers of inflammatory cells in CVL fluid. A 0.15–0.2 log10 increase in inflammatory cells was seen in black versus white and Hispanic women after adjustment for known potential confounders. Progesterone-based contraceptives, younger age, and race have an independent effect on cervicovaginal inflammatory cells.
Oxford University Press