HIV and mortality of mothers and children: evidence from cohort studies in Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi.

Background: The steady decline in child mortality observed in most African countries through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s has stalled in many countries in the 1990s because of the AIDS epidemic. However, the census and household survey data that generally are used to produce estimates of child mortality do not permit precise measures of the adverse effect of HIV on child mortality.

Methods: To calculate excess risks of child mortality as the result of maternal HIV status, we used pooled data from 3 longitudinal community-based studies that classified births by the mother's HIV status.

The long-term impact of HIV and orphanhood on the mortality and physical well-being of children in rural Malawi.

Objective: To assess the influence of maternal HIV status and orphanhood on child mortality and physical well-being.

Design: Retrospective cohort study with > 10 years of follow-up.

Methods: From population-based surveys in Karonga District, Malawi in the 1980s, 197 individuals were identified as HIV-positive.

Long-term follow-up of HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals in rural Malawi.

Objective: To measure the effect of HIV on survival in rural Africa.

Design: A retrospective cohort study with more than 10 years follow-up.

Methods: Individuals with known HIV status in the 1980s were identified from previous population surveys in Karonga District, northern Malawi.