Growth of infants born to HIV-infected women in South Africa according to maternal and infant characteristics

Abstract

Objective To evaluate growth parameters assessed by weight and length in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected infants born to HIV-infected mothers in South Africa from birth to 6months of age. Methods We calculated z-scores for weight-for-age (WAZ), length-for-age (LAZ) and weight-for-length (WLZ) among a cohort of 840 mother-infant dyads. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models with time-varying covariates were used to estimate the risk of falling <0.001). The risk of WAZ falling <200cells/μl: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.10-2.43), premature birth (adj. HR: 2.82; 95% CI: 2.06-3.86) and formula feeding (adj. HR: 3.35; 95% CI: 1.64-6.85). The risk of LAZ falling <20years: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.31-0.96), lower maternal CD4 cell count (adj. HR for CD4 cell count <200cells/μl: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.14-2.59), premature birth (adj. HR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.70-3.30) and formula feeding (adj. HR: 4.22; 95% CI: 1.85-9.62). The risk of WLZ falling