People with HIV have a higher chance of having chronic systemic inflammation during pregnancy, according to a Rutgers study. Published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the study examined the impact of inflammation and the biomarkers that activate the immune system in pregnant people with HIV on the growth of their babies.
“We wanted to see if inflammation and immune activation in pregnant people with HIV is different than pregnant people without HIV, and how inflammation and immune activation during pregnancy impacts children who are exposed to HIV during pregnancy but are not infected,” said Stephanie Shiau, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The study found that certain maternal inflammatory biomarkers were associated with poor growth in children in the first year of life. To read the full story.