Is the prevalence of pre-eclampsia affected by HIV/AIDS? A retrospective case–control study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the rate of HIV/AIDS (and CD(4) levels) in women with pre-eclampsia compared to that of a control group. METHODS: This was a retrospective case–control study in a tertiary and regional hospital in South Africa. We reviewed the hospital records of women who had delivered in these hospitals between 1 January 2008 and 30 June 2010. The records of women with pre-eclampsia during the study period were analysed. Their HIV infection rate was compared to that of a control group consisting of normotensive healthy pregnant women. RESULTS: Among 492 cases of pre-eclampsia, 130 (26.4%) were HIV infected. In the control group, 183/500 (36.6%) were HIV infected (p = 0.001, OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.47–0.82). After adjustment to match the difference in maternal age and parity, the rate of HIV/AIDS was lower in the pre-eclamptic group than in the control group (p = 0.005, OR = 0.658). CONCLUSION: The rate of HIV/AIDS was significantly lower in women with pre-eclampsia than in normotensive healthy pregnant women.