Recent levels and trends in HIV incidence rates among adolescent girls and young women in ten high-prevalence African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Publication date: November 2019Source: The Lancet Global Health, Volume 7, Issue 11Author(s): Isolde Birdthistle, Clare Tanton, Andrew Tomita, Kristen de Graaf, Susan B Schaffnit, Frank Tanser, Emma SlaymakerSummaryBackgroundThe roll-out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has changed contexts of HIV risk, but the influence on HIV incidence among young women is not clear. We aimed to summarise direct estimates of HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women since ART and before large investments in targeted prevention for those in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsWe did a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Global Health, and CINAHL for studies reporting HIV incidence data from serological samples collected among females aged 15–24 years in ten countries (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) that were selected for DREAMS investment in 2015. We only included articles published in English. Our main outcome was to summarise recent levels and trends in HIV incidence estimates collected between 2005 and 2015, published or received from study authors, by age and sex, and pooled by region.Findings51 studies were identified from nine of the ten DREAMS countries; no eligible studies from Lesotho were identified. Directly observed HIV incidence rates were lowest among females aged 13–19 years in Kumi, Uganda (0·38 cases per 100 person-years); and directly observed HIV inciden...
Source: The Lancet Global Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research