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Biomedical subjects

M P Webber

Publications and source records attributed to M P Webber.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Body image in middle-aged HIV-infected and uninfected women.

We assessed factors associated with negative body image among 225 HIV-infected and 207 uninfected women. Standardized interviews obtained sociodemographic data and elicited agreement with the statement: 'Overall I am satisfied with my body shape'. Height and weight were measured. Overall, 39% of the women were obese and 47% had a negative body image. Factors independently associated with negative body image were HIV-infection, BMI, and depression. Given the high prevalence of obesity and negative body image, interventions aimed at assisting women with weight loss are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Tampons as a self-administered collection method for the detection and quantification of genital HIV-1.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the detection and quantitation of HIV-1 from tampon eluents in comparison with cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) and plasma specimens from the same women. METHODS: Ninety-seven tampon, 105 CVL, and 104 plasma specimens from 105 HIV-1 seropositive women were analyzed using Version 3 of the Chiron bDNA assay, with sensitivity of 50 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml. Data analyses used McNemar's test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Mantel--Haenszel chi-squared and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals to assess differences in proportions. RESULTS: In women for whom both plasma and genital specimens were available, HIV-1 was detected less frequently in genital specimens: [tampons (33/97, 34%) and CVL (48/104, 46%)] than plasma specimens (86/104, 83%) (P < 0.001 for both plasma versus tampon and for plasma versus CVL). However, the proportion of genital specimens with detectable virus did not differ significantly by collection method (P = 0.14). Among women with detectable virus using both collection methods (n = 23), viral load was similar for tampon eluents (median, 355 copies/ml; range, 52--120,898) and CVL specimens (median, 265 copies/ml; range, 61--35,637;P = 0.88). CONCLUSION: Tampon eluent specimens are slightly less sensitive than CVL specimens in the detection of genital HIV-1, although quantification of viral load, when detectable by both methods, was similar.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Pilot study of expedited HIV-1 testing of women in labor at an inner-city hospital in New York City.

To evaluate the feasibility of offering voluntary counseling and expedited human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing to women in labor, and to assess the characteristics of two rapid HIV assays compared with results from an expedited standard enzyme immunoassay (EIA), with Western blot confirmation, as indicated, we undertook a pilot study immediately prior to enactment of New York State regulations (August 1999) requiring expedited testing of laboring women (or newborns) with undocumented HIV status. From June 9, 1999 through July 2, 1999, we offered HIV counseling and testing (C&T) to all medically stable women in active labor, 106 of 125 (85%) of whom accepted. One woman was confirmed HIV-1 seropositive. Rapid assay sensitivity and specificity were: SUDS 100 and 98%, and Multispot 100 and 100%, respectively in comparison with 100 and 99% for the standard EIA. The positive predictive values (PPV) were SUDS 33%; Multispot 100%; and EIA 50%. While our sample size was small, it appears that the accuracy of rapid and expedited HIV assays may be improved by requiring two different reactive assays before informing women of HIV-seropositive results or initiating antiretroviral treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A prospective study of HIV disease progression in female and male drug users.

OBJECTIVE: To compare HIV disease progression and mortality in a cohort of female and male drug users. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study of 222 HIV-seropositive women and 302 HIV-seropositive men who attended a hospital-affiliated methadone maintenance program with on-site primary care. METHODS: Regression slopes of CD4+ cell decline were compared using the two sample t-test, and the distribution of AIDS-defining illnesses evaluated by Mantel-Haenszel chi2 test. Time to AIDS-defining clinical conditions and death were compared using the Kaplan-Meier log-rank test. Multivariate estimates of progression to clinical AIDS or death, for all participants, stratified by sex, were derived from Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Ninety-five persons (43 women and 52 men) developed AIDS-defining conditions. Analyses of the rates of CD4+ cell decline, the distribution of first AIDS-defining illnesses, and the time to clinical AIDS did not differ by sex. In the multivariate model, sex was not associated with an AIDS outcome, whereas crack-cocaine use [hazards ratio (HR), 1.815; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.151-2.863], CD4+ cell count (100 x 10(6)/l; HR, 0.589; 95% CI, 0.511-0.679), and two or more HIV-related symptoms (HR, 1.702; 95% CI, 1.125-2.576) were associated. Mortality rates (8.71 per 100 person-years in women and 9.85 per 100 person-years in men) were similar, using univariate or multivariate methods. CONCLUSIONS: There was little difference in clinical outcomes or mortality between HIV-seropositive female and male drug users with access to primary care. However, crack-cocaine use was independently associated with progression to clinical AIDS.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Temporal trends in the progression of human immunodeficiency virus disease in a cohort of drug users.

We evaluated changes over time in rates of progression to AIDS, mortality, and distribution of AIDS-defining illnesses in 524 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive injection drug users enrolled between 1986 and 1995 in a prospective study of HIV infection in the Bronx, NY. At enrollment, participants attended a hospital-affiliated methadone maintenance program with on-site primary care. Using the 1993 clinical definition of AIDS, we found that the hazard ratio (HR) of progression to AIDS declined for enrollees over time in comparison with the referent group of persons enrolled in 1986-1987. For program enrollees in 1988-1989, the HR was 1.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.6-1.6]; for enrollees in 1990-1991, the HR was 0.3 (95% CI = 0.1-0.9); for enrollees in 1992-1993, the HR was 0.5 (95% CI = 0.3-0.9); and for enrollees in 1994-1995, the HR was 0.2 (95% CI = 0.1-0.7), after controlling on initial CD4+ cell counts and age. Nevertheless, the greater AIDS-free time of later study entrants was not associated with reduced mortality. The study provides evidence that drug users with access to primary care likely benefited from improved management of HIV disease in prolonging AIDS-free time but, through 1996, did not experience greater survival.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Adolescent heterosexual experience: a new typology.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to define a typology that encompasses the full range of adolescent heterosexual behavior; to compare the usefulness of the new typology with that of the traditional dichotomy of "sexually active"/"sexually inactive" for understanding sexual behavior among adolescents; and to determine the implications of the new typology for the design and implementation of HIV prevention programs targeting adolescents. METHODS: Detailed face-to-face interviews were conducted with a cross-sectional sample of 907 mothers and their adolescents, ages 14-17 years, recruited from public high schools in Alabama, New York, and Puerto Rico. Information from the adolescent survey on precoital sexual behaviors and STD/HIV sexual risk and risk reduction behaviors was examined. A typology of adolescent heterosexual experiences was constructed using four behavioral dimensions. RESULTS: Ninety-nine percent (n = 894) of the sample was classified into one of the five patterns of sexual experience: Delayers, Anticipators, One-timers, Steadies, and Multiples. Among the participants who were not sexually active, precoital behaviors differed significantly between the 22% who anticipated initiating sexual intercourse in the next year (Anticipators) and those who did not (Delayers). Among those traditionally classified as "sexually active", One-timers and Steadies were significantly older when they first had penile-vaginal intercourse than those who had multiple partners. One-timers were more likely to use condoms than Steadies or Multiples, and only Multiples reported previous STDs. CONCLUSION: A typology that defines a range of adolescent heterosexual experiences was developed, and it was possible to classify 99% of our sample. The traditional dichotomy between "sexually active" vs. "not active" hides important behavioral intentions and sexual practices. These differences must be taken into account in the development and implementation of HIV prevention programs that target adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Correlates of voluntary human immunodeficiency virus antibody testing reported by postpartum women.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors reported by postpartum women in an AIDS epicenter toward voluntary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling and testing. METHODS: From February 1993 to March 1994, a convenience sample of 544 women underwent postpartum interviews at a municipal hospital in the Bronx, New York City. Demographic information and obstetric, sexual, drug use, and HIV testing histories were elicited, and selected variables were abstracted from the medical charts. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent of women were voluntarily tested for HIV. In the multivariate model, the strongest individual correlate of HIV testing was a history of drug use. Other independent correlates were being age 25 or younger, having only one child, knowing someone who died of AIDS, and having stigma-related concerns about testing. In univariate analysis, women with a drug risk were more than nine times as likely as others to have delivered without receiving any prenatal care during this pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Voluntary counseling and testing programs can succeed in testing a majority of hospitalized childbearing women. However, women at risk of drug use, who more often reported testing, were probably tested outside of prenatal care settings. Efforts to reduce vertical transmission of HIV infection must focus on bringing more women, especially women who use drugs, into prenatal care.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Factors associated with unrecognized HIV-1 infection in an inner-city emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with unrecognized HIV-1 infection among medical patients presenting to an inner-city emergency department. METHODS: We conducted anonymous HIV-1 testing in subjects interviewed for risk behaviors and knowledge of HIV status at an inner-city ED in the Bronx, New York. Our subjects were consecutive adult medical patients in noncritical condition (N = 1,744) who were evaluated by three physicians providing primary emergency care. Each patient was given a structured interview for demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, and knowledge of HIV status. Excess serum, drawn for clinical purposes, was linked without identifiers to responses and tested for antibodies to HIV-1. In subjects who denied HIV infection, we tested associations with seropositivity using univariate analyses and logistic-regression techniques (multivariate). RESULTS: Of the 1,744 patients interviewed, 656 (37.6%) reported HIV risk behaviors. Of 970 tested for HIV-1 antibodies, 125 (12.9%) were seropositive. The prevalence of HIV-1 infection among those who denied known infection was 4.0% (35 of 875). In the multivariate model, independent predictors of unrecognized HIV-1 infection were age 35 to 44 years, crack cocaine use, history of syphilis, and ED diagnosis of an infection not necessarily related to HIV infection. Unrecognized HIV-1 infection was more likely among patients admitted to the hospital, but 21 of the 35 with unrecognized infection (60%) were not admitted and in 9(25.7%) no risk factors were identified. CONCLUSION: More than one third of patients who visited one inner-city ED acknowledged HIV risk behaviors. One quarter of patients with unrecognized HIV-1 infection reported no identifiable risk factors. Easily accessible HIV counseling and testing should be considered in EDs in areas serving persons at risk for HIV infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Behavioral risks for HIV infection associated with HIV-testing decisions.

Adolescent and adult women were offered HIV testing as part of a clinic-based research program on HIV/AIDS in New York City. Sixty-four percent consented to testing and 87% of those tested returned to receive their results. This paper uses two-stage regression methods to identify sexual behavioral risk factors for HIV infection associated with the decision to accept the HIV test and subsequently to return for the results. Of the risk factors examined, having more than a single sex partner and never using a condom in the last year were strong predictors of taking the test; three or more sex partners had the strongest effects on the decision to return for the HIV test results. We conclude that voluntary HIV testing in this group can identify women with behavioral risks of HIV infection. Thus, voluntary HIV testing may be effective in targeting persons at high risk because behavioral risks are associated with the decision to take the HIV test.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1993

Maternal risk factors for congenital syphilis: a case-control study.

This study estimated the strength of association between maternal cocaine use and congenital syphilis after adjustment for other factors, especially the use of prenatal care. The authors reviewed medical chart and laboratory data for 75 liveborn infants treated for congenital syphilis at Harlem Hospital Center (New York City) in 1987, 150 matched control infants, and their mothers. Cocaine use was determined from universal maternal medical histories and infant toxicology screenings, and the sensitivity of each method of ascertainment was evaluated. With the use of either maternal history or positive infant urine toxicology as evidence of cocaine use, 66.2% (49/74) of case infants versus 16.1% (24/149) of control infants were judged to have been exposed to cocaine in utero (odds ratio (OR) = 9.1, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 4.7-29.2). However, in multiple logistic regression, lack of prenatal care was the single variable with the highest adjusted odds ratio (adjusted OR = 11.0, 95% Cl 1.3-93.1); maternal cocaine use had the second-highest adjusted odds ratio (adjusted OR = 4.9, 95% Cl 1.8-13.0). Thus, despite the emergence of maternal cocaine use as a new risk factor, underutilization of prenatal care remains the strongest predictor of congenital syphilis.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The underrecognition of HIV infection in women in an inner-city emergency room.

OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed the recognition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and associated factors in women and men attending an emergency room in the Bronx, New York, NY. METHODS: From April 16, 1989, to May 5, 1989, the emergency room records of 2102 consecutive patients 13 years of age or older were reviewed and, for 856 patients undergoing venipuncture, linked anonymously to results of HIV antibody tested in excess blood. RESULTS: HIV seroprevalence was 7.8% in women and 14.6% in men. Among seropositive women, 5.0% had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), compared with 26.0% of men. Excluding patients with AIDS, HIV infection was recognized in 13.2% of women and 27.0% of men. HIV infection was recognized only in women aged 25 through 44 years. In men, recognition occurred in all age groups. Clinical presentation did not distinguish the seropositive from seronegative women. Risk assessments were recorded less frequently for women (11.2%) than men (15.9%). For 92.5% of persons with any behavioral risk assessment, injecting drug use was the only behavior assessed. CONCLUSIONS: HIV infection is underrecognized in women, in part, because of a lower prevalence of AIDS. Universal HIV risk assessment, which includes heterosexual behaviors, may help increase recognition of HIV in women and opportunities for early intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Increasing rate of pneumonia hospitalizations in the Bronx: a sentinel indicator for human immunodeficiency virus.

To describe secular trends in pneumonia hospitalizations in the Bronx, New York City from 1982-1986, we analysed all cases with a discharge diagnosis of pneumonia, excluding Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), for Bronx residents by age, sex, neighbourhood, and length of stay (N = 21,822). Hospital deaths from PCP and immune disorders were analysed separately as a non-recurrent indicator of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related disease prevalence by age, sex and geographical areas. From 1982 to 1986, pneumonia hospitalizations increased 132% among males and 100% among females aged 25-54, an age group accounting for 90% of adult AIDS cases in the Bronx, as compared to a 21% rise among males and 38% among females in all other age groups (p less than 0.001). Pneumonia rates increased most in those population groups with the highest rates of PCP and immune disorders. An ecological correlation of pneumonia hospitalization with this measure of AIDS prevalence for residents of a small geographical area is evident (r2 = 0.92). The observed increase in pneumonia hospitalizations, believed to be related to underlying prevalence patterns of HIV in this population, accounts for a significant and previously unrecognized burden on the local health care system. From 1983-1986, these 'excess' pneumonias in the Bronx accounted for 14,707 days of hospitalization--equal to 42% of the total days attributed to all hospital admissions for AIDS per se.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

HIV antibody in persons screened for syphilis: prevalence in a New York City emergency room and primary care clinics.

An anonymous human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence survey was performed on bloods sent for syphilis serologic testing from the general medical or pediatric clinics or emergency room of a municipal hospital in the Bronx, New York City. From July-December 1987, 549 sera from persons aged 15-54 were collected. HIV antibody was detected in 29/549 (5.3%) sera, increased with age from 0% in the group under 20 to 16.7% in those aged 35-39, and was significantly higher in men (27/230, 11.7%) compared to women (2/319, 0.6%) (P less than .05). Among men aged 35-39, 10/29 (34.5%) were HIV infected. The HIV seroprevalence in emergency room sera was 8/61 (13.1%) versus 21/488 (4.3%) from the out-patient clinics (P less than .05). The presence of a reactive syphilis serology was strongly associated with HIV infection independent of gender (Mantel-Haenszel summary odds ratio (OR) 4.1, 95% CI [1.8, 7.7]) but was stronger for women with reactive syphilis serologies (OR 45.5, 95% CI 5.3, 387.6) than for men (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2, 5.8). AIDS prevention strategies may reach at-risk sexually active individuals by focusing on hospital-based emergency rooms and out-patients clinics in areas with high HIV seroprevalence.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fertility in persons with epilepsy: 1935-1974.

Data from the Rochester-Olmsted County Medical Records Linkage Project were utilized to assess fertility in persons with epilepsy. Population age-specific reproduction rates for Rochester residents for the years 1935-1974 were estimated using the number of live births from the Minnesota Department of Health Statistics and Vital Statistics of the U.S. for comparison with rates in affected persons. Overall, fertility rates were significantly reduced to 80% of expected for affected males and 85% for affected females. Individuals with partial seizures (simple and complex) were disadvantaged, whereas those with generalized onset were not. During the last 20 years of the study period, males were more disadvantaged than females. The male-female difference was greatest during the time of low population fertility (after 1965). Male deficits were more marked after diagnosis; female deficits were more marked before diagnosis. Differences in the proportion of ever-married person-years between the sexes only partially explain the observed differences.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular trends in New York City hospital discharge diagnoses of congenital syphilis and cocaine dependence, 1982-88.

The ecologic relationship between the incidence of reactive serologic tests for syphilis among 2,229 newborns and diagnoses that included cocaine dependence among 17,219 hospitalized women ages 15-44 in New York City was investigated. Citywide, race-specific and zip code-specific annual rates were computed. The residential zip codes were grouped into quartiles by cumulative level of diagnoses that included cocaine dependence, and citywide and race-specific annual rates of congenital syphilis were computed in each quartile. From 1982 to 1988, the citywide rate of congenital syphilis for all races increased from 1.2 to 5.8 per 1,000 live births, while rates of cocaine dependence discharges increased from 23.3 to 423.3 per 100,000 women of all races during the same period. For African American infants, citywide rates of congenital syphilis increased from 1.8 to 10.6 per 1,000 live births. In quartile-specific analyses of African American women and newborns, rates of congenital syphilis increased from 1.9 to 14.6 in the highest cocaine-exposure quartile; from 2.1 to 12.4 in the third; from 1.5 to 7.6 in the second; and, from 1.6 to 2.8 in the lowest cocaine-exposure quartile. This study provides support for the hypothesis that cocaine dependence in women may be associated with congenital syphilis infection.

Adolescent↗