Feasibility and acceptability of sexually transmitted infection screening during antenatal care of women in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health concern worldwide. Untreated STIs may have serious sequelae, particularly in pregnant women. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of screening and treating common STIs in women during pregnancy in Bangladesh.

Effect of Hormone Therapy on Lipoprotein Subfractions in Early and Late Postmenopausal Women.

Context: The Early vs Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (ELITE) showed that hormone therapy (HT) reduced atherosclerosis progression among early but not late postmenopausal women (PMW).

Objective: Determined by time-since-menopause (1) HT effects on lipids and lipoprotein particle subfractions (LPs), (2) associations of estradiol (E2) level with lipids and LPs, (3) associations of lipids and LPs with atherosclerosis progression.

Design: Randomized controlled trial stratified by time-since-menopause.

Mediation analysis of chronic kidney disease risk factors using kidney biomarkers in women living with HIV.

Objective: Novel urinary biomarkers reflecting kidney tubule health are associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk in persons living with HIV. However, it is unknown whether these biomarkers provide mechanistic insight into the associations between clinical risk factors for CKD and subsequent CKD risk.

Methods: Among 636 women living with HIV in the Women's Interagency HIV Study with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >60 ml/min/1.

The association of hysterectomy with or without ovarian conservation with subclinical atherosclerosis progression in healthy postmenopausal women.

Objective: While the deleterious associations of surgical menopause after bilateral oophorectomy with cardiovascular disease are documented, less is specifically known concerning subclinical atherosclerosis progression.

Methods: We used data from 590 healthy postmenopausal women randomized to hormone therapy or placebo in the Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (ELITE), which was conducted from July 2005 to February 2013. Subclinical atherosclerosis progression was measured as annual rate of change in carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) over a median 4.

Tubular Secretory Solute Clearance and HIV Infection.

Background: Tubular secretion is an important kidney function responsible for the clearance of numerous medications, including antibiotics and antivirals. It is unknown whether persons living with HIV have lower secretion compared with HIV-uninfected persons, which might predispose them to the risk of progressive kidney disease or adverse drug events.

Setting And Methods: We evaluated a panel of 6 endogenous secretory solutes in 199 women living with HIV (WLWH) and 100 women without HIV enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Effect of menopausal hormone therapy on methylation levels in early and late postmenopausal women.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death among postmenopausal women but standard primary prevention strategies in women are not as effective as in men. By comparison, the Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (ELITE) study demonstrated that hormone therapy (HT) was associated with significant reduction in atherosclerosis progression in women who were within six years of menopause compared to those who were 10 or more years from menopause. These findings are consistent with other studies showing significant reductions in all-cause mortality and CVD with HT, particularly when initiated in women younger than 60 years of age or within 10 years since menopause.

Subclinical carotid artery atherosclerosis and cognitive function in older adults.

Background: The combined effects of increased life expectancy and the considerable number of persons reaching old age will magnify the dementia epidemic in the USA. Demonstration that subclinical atherosclerosis precedes and is associated with cognitive impairment suggests a modifiable risk factor for age-associated cognitive impairment and dementia. The purpose of this study is to determine whether subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) is associated with changes in cognitive function over time in older adults.

Effect of menopausal hormone therapy on arterial wall echomorphology: Results from the Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (ELITE).

Objective: To evaluate the effect of hormone therapy (HT) on arterial wall composition by ultrasound.

Background: The effect of HT on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis has been well-described using measurements of common carotid artery (CCA) wall thickness. However, it is unknown whether the change in arterial wall anatomic structure is accompanied by an effect of HT on arterial wall composition.

Comparison of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Between 2 Subclinical Atherosclerosis Measures in Healthy Postmenopausal Women: Carotid Artery Wall Thickness and Echogenicity: Carotid Artery Wall Thickness and Echogenicity.

Objectives: Although carotid artery intima media thickness (CIMT) is a widely used determinant of subclinical atherosclerosis, gray-scale median of the intima-media complex (IM-GSM) of the common carotid artery is a relatively novel measure of echogenicity reflecting composition of the arterial wall. It is important to compare cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor correlates across CIMT and IM-GSM to determine whether these measures reflect distinct aspects of atherosclerosis.

Methods: Baseline information from a completed randomized clinical trial of 643 healthy postmenopausal women without clinically apparent CVD was included in this cross-sectional study.

Concentrations of endogenous sex steroid hormones and SHBG in healthy postmenopausal women.

Studies reporting age-specific reference ranges of endogenous sex steroid hormones in postmenopausal women are relatively scarce. If levels differ by age, dosing and treatment regimens should vary among postmenopausal women accordingly. Our objective was to establish reference ranges for sex steroid hormones and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) by age group and overall, and to investigate their association with demographic characteristics.

Brief Report: Subclinical Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Increased Expression of Peripheral Blood IL-32 Isoforms Among Women Living With HIV.

Background: Persistent inflammation in HIV infection is associated with elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, even with viral suppression. Identification of novel surrogate biomarkers can enhance CVD risk stratification and suggest novel therapies. We investigated the potential of interleukin 32 (IL-32), a proinflammatory multi-isoform cytokine, as a biomarker for subclinical carotid artery atherosclerosis in virologically suppressed women living with HIV (WLWH).

Upregulated IL-32 Expression And Reduced Gut Short Chain Fatty Acid Caproic Acid in People Living With HIV With Subclinical Atherosclerosis.

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV (PLWH) are still at higher risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) that are mediated by chronic inflammation. Identification of novel inflammatory mediators with the inherent potential to be used as CVD biomarkers and also as therapeutic targets is critically needed for better risk stratification and disease management in PLWH. Here, we investigated the expression and potential role of the multi-isoform proinflammatory cytokine IL-32 in subclinical atherosclerosis in PLWH (n=49 with subclinical atherosclerosis and n=30 without) and HIV- controls (n=25 with subclinical atherosclerosis and n=24 without).

Factors Associated With Serum Estradiol Levels Among Postmenopausal Women Using Hormone Therapy.

Objective: To identify factors associated with serum estradiol (E2) levels among healthy postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT).

Methods: This is an unplanned post hoc analysis of data from ELITE (Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol), a randomized controlled trial of 1 mg oral E2 with or without vaginal progesterone in healthy early compared with late (<6 years compared with 10 or more years since menopause) postmenopausal women. We included results from visits when women reported at least 80% compliance with HT.

Women from afar: an observational study of demographic characteristics and mortality among foreign-born women living with HIV in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) in the United States 1994-2016.

Introduction: Foreign-born persons comprise ~13% of the US population. Immigrants, especially women, often face a complex set of social and structural factors that negatively impact health outcomes including greater risk of HIV infection. We described socio-demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics and AIDs and non-AIDS death among foreign-born women living with HIV (FBWLWH) participating in the US Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) in the US from 1994 to 2016.

Association of hot flushes with ghrelin and adipokines in early versus late postmenopausal women.

Objective: Vasomotor flushing (hot flushes) is a common menopausal symptom experienced by most women going through the menopausal transition; flushing continues for a variable period in postmenopause. Primarily due to lack of ovarian estrogen, other biomarkers of hot flushes have not been clearly identified. We examined the relationship of hot flushes with ghrelin and adipokines.

Longitudinal assessment of abnormal Papanicolaou test rates among women with HIV.

Objective: To describe longitudinal changes in the prevalence of abnormal Papanicolau testing among women living with HIV.

Design: Prospective cohort study with sequential enrollment subcohorts.

Methods: Four waves of enrollment occurred in the Women's Interagency HIV Study, the US women's HIV cohort (1994-1995, 2001-2002, 2011-2012, 2013-2015).

White Blood Cell Counts, Lymphocyte Subsets, and Incident Diabetes Mellitus in Women Living With and Without HIV.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with expansion of proinflammatory lymphocyte subsets. We investigated the relationship of total white blood cell (WBC) count and lymphocyte subsets with incident DM in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). Higher CD4 and CD8 T cell counts, lymphocyte count, and total WBC count were associated with incident DM among both women with and without HIV, although the association of CD8 was not statistically significant among women without HIV.

Effect of ApoE4 Genotype on the Association Between Metabolic Phenotype and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Postmenopausal Women.

Metabolic profile and ApoE4 genotype have effects on coronary heart disease. We examined the interaction between these factors on subclinical atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women from the Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (n = 497). Based on nine metabolic biomarkers (fasting blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, ketones, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, hemoglobin A1c, and blood pressure), K-means clustering categorized women into three distinct phenotypes: healthy, high blood pressure, and poor metabolic.

Miscarriage among women in the United States Women's Interagency HIV Study, 1994-2017.

Background: Relatively little is known about the frequency and factors associated with miscarriage among women living with HIV.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate factors associated with miscarriage among women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Study Design: We conducted an analysis of longitudinal data collected from Oct.

Predicting diabetes risk among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women.

Objective: To assess the performance of an adapted American Diabetes Association (ADA) risk score and the concise Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINRISC) for predicting type 2 diabetes development in women with and at risk of HIV infection.

Design: Longitudinal analysis of the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Methods: The women's Interagency HIV Study is an ongoing prospective cohort study of women with and at risk for HIV infection.

Differential Effect of Plasma Estradiol on Subclinical Atherosclerosis Progression in Early vs Late Postmenopause.

Context: The Early vs Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol showed that hormone therapy (HT) reduced progression of atherosclerosis when initiated in early but not in late postmenopause.

Objective: This posttrial analysis examined the association between plasma estradiol (E2) levels and atherosclerosis determined by rate of change in carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and tested whether this association is equally evident in early (<6 years) vs late (≥10 years) postmenopause.

Design: Randomized controlled trial stratified by time since menopause (ClinicalTrials.

Effect of antiretroviral therapy on allele-associated Lp(a) level in women with HIV in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

We previously demonstrated an association between lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels and atherosclerosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive women. The effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on Lp(a) levels in relation to apo(a) size polymorphism remain unclear. ART effects on allele-specific apo(a) level (ASL), an Lp(a) level associated with individual apo(a) alleles within each allele-pair, were determined in 126 HIV-seropositive women.

Apolipoprotein E4 genotype in combination with poor metabolic profile is associated with reduced cognitive performance in healthy postmenopausal women: implications for late onset Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: We hypothesized the association of metabolic profile on cognition in postmenopausal women will be greater among ApoE4 carriers compared with noncarriers.

Methods: Metabolic biomarkers and measures of global cognition, executive functions, and verbal memory, collected among postmenopausal females, were used in this analysis. Clustering analyses of metabolic biomarkers revealed three phenotypes: healthy, predominantly hypertensive, and poor metabolic with (borderline normal laboratory values).

Room for Improvement: The HIV-Diabetes Care Continuum Over 15 Years in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Background: Gains in life expectancy through optimal control of HIV infection with antiretroviral therapy (ART) may be threatened if other comorbidities, such as diabetes, are not optimally managed.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) from 2001, 2006, and 2015. We estimated the proportions of HIV-positive and HIV-negative women with diabetes who were engaged in care and achieved treatment goals (hemoglobin A1c [A1c] <7.