Biomedical subjects

Anne Eskild

Publications and source records attributed to Anne Eskild.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Testing for toxoplasmosis in pregnancy: a study of the routines in primary antenatal care.

OBJECTIVES: The question of benefit of screening for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in pregnancy to prevent impairment in the infant has not been settled. Despite this, it is believed that such testing is common. The aim of this study was to describe the test routines and to identify factors associated with testing in primary antenatal care. SETTING: Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. METHODS: All women who gave birth at Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, in May 2000 were included. The number of antibody tests during pregnancy was obtained from the patient registry at the department of microbiology at the same hospital. RESULTS: 81% (361/446) had been tested for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy. Women attending primary antenatal care at a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology were most likely to be tested. Among women with no signs of prior toxoplasmosis, 35% (110/317) were tested only once. DISCUSSION: The majority of pregnant women are being tested for toxoplasmosis even though such testing has no documented preventive effect and has not been recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

[Induced abortion among women with foreign cultural background in Oslo].

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of women requesting induced abortion in Oslo, Norway are of non-Western origin. The aim of this study was to investigate whether non-Western immigrant women are over-represented among women requesting induced abortion. For comparative purposes the proportion of non-Western women with deliveries was also assessed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Included in the study were all women 16-50 years of age, living in Oslo in 1999. Age specific data on the number of female residents and the number of women with deliveries according to immigrant status were obtained from the City of Oslo's Statistical Office. Information on the number of induced abortions according to age and immigrant status was obtained from the medical records of all women requesting induced abortion in Oslo during a four-months period. RESULTS: 25% of all women requesting induced abortion (262/1,069) and 15.5% (20,637/132,843) of the general population were non-Western (ratio between proportions = 1.6, p < 0.05 chi square test). Non-Western women were over-represented in all age groups of women requesting induced abortion; this was most pronounced in the age groups > 35 years. Non-Western women were also over-represented in all age groups of women who had delivery. Half of all deliveries in women < 25 years were among non-Western women. INTERPRETATION: Non-Western immigrant women seem to represent a risk group for induced abortion.

Abortion Applicants↗

PubMed2002

Changes over calendar time in the risk of specific first AIDS-defining events following HIV seroconversion, adjusting for competing risks.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have reported large reductions in the risks of AIDS and death since the introduction of potent anti-retroviral therapies, few have evaluated whether this has been similar for all AIDS-defining diseases. We wished to evaluate changes over time in the risk of specific AIDS-defining diseases, as first events, using data from individuals with known dates of HIV seroconversion. METHODS: Using a competing risks proportional hazards model on pooled data from 20 cohorts (CASCADE), we evaluated time from HIV seroconversion to each first AIDS-defining disease (16 groups) and to death without AIDS for four calendar periods, adjusting for exposure category, age, sex, acute infection, and stratifying by cohort. We compared results to those obtained from a cause-specific hazards model. RESULTS: Of 6,941, 2,021 (29%) developed AIDS and 437 (6%) died without AIDS. The risk of AIDS or death remained constant to 1996 then reduced; relative hazard = 0.89 (95% CI: 0.77-1.03); 0.90 (95% CI: 0.81-1.01); and 0.32 (95% CI: 0.28-0.37) for 1979-1990, 1991-1993, and 1997-2001, respectively, compared to 1994-1996. Significant risk reductions in 1997-2001 were observed in all but two AIDS-defining groups and death without AIDS in a competing risks model (with similar results from a cause-specific model). There was significant heterogeneity in the risk reduction across events; from 96% for cryptosporidiosis, to 17% for death without AIDS (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that studies reporting a stable trend for particular AIDS diseases over the period 1979-2001 may not have accounted for the competing risks among other events or lack the power to detect smaller trends.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

PubMed2002

Herpes simplex virus type-2 infection in pregnancy: no risk of fetal death: results from a nested case-control study within 35,940 women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the association of fetal death with herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) antibody status during pregnancy: 1. presence of antibodies in first trimester; 2. appearance of antibodies (incident infection); 3. increase in antibody titre; and 4. loss of antibodies. DESIGN: Prospective study. POPULATION: The source population was a cohort of 35,940 pregnant women in Norway. METHODS: Nested case-control study within the cohort. Cases were all women in the study population who experienced a fetal death after the 16th weeks of gestation (n = 281), and controls were 961 randomly selected women with a live born child. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HSV-2 antibody status. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent (82/281) of women with a fetal death and 27% (256/961) of the controls had of HSV-2 antibodies present in the first trimester (odds ratio 1.1, 95% CI 0.8-1.5). HSV-2 antibodies appeared in 2% (3/136) of initially seronegative cases and 3% (16/623) of the controls during pregnancy (odds ratio 0.9, 95% CI 0.2-3.0). An increase in HSV-2 antibodies occurred in 4% (2/55) of initially seropositive cases and 7% (16/231) of the controls (odds ratio 0.5, 95% CI 0.1-2.3). Loss of HSV-2 antibodies in initially seropositive women was not associated with fetal death, 42% (23/55) of the cases and 45% (104/231) of the controls seroreverted (odds ratio 0.8, 95% CI 0.5-1.6). Differences in follow up time, age and parity were controlled and did not influence the comparisons between cases and controls. CONCLUSION: This study provides no evidence of an association between HSV-2 infection during pregnancy and fetal death.

Adult↗