Abstract
Objective. Whether oral lesions were associated with human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) status in a cohort of pregnant Malawian women was studied. Study design. Six hundred thirty-eight women participated in a randomized prospective study at 3 prenatal clinics in a rural area of southern Malawi. Oral examinations, followed by collection of oral fluid specimens with an HIV-1 oral specimen collection device, were performed. The specimens were tested for antibodies against HIV-1. Results. Sixty-one oral lesions were found in 60 participants. While traditional HIV-1 associated lesions were rare, benign migratory glossitis was unexpectedly common (6%). Oral hairy leukoplakia was significantly more common among women who were HIV-1 positive than among women who were HIV-1 negative. An HIV-1 prevalence rate of 21.8% was estimated among the women, with the highest rate of HIV-1 infection (34.1%) among women aged 25 to 29 years. Conclusion. Stratifying lesions showed a small number of oral hairy leukoplakia to be markers for HIV-1. A high seroprevalence was found in this rural cohort, but there were unexpectedly few oral lesions. The relatively few oral lesions diagnosed may indicate a recent infection with HIV.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 56-61 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontics |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2001 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by the Provost International Research Fund, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa; Epitope Inc, Beaverton, Ore; Organon Technica, Inc, Raleigh, NC; British Airways, Philadelphia office, Pa; Henry Schein, Florham Park, NJ; CareLift, Philadelphia, Pa; and Prism Enterprises, Inc, San Antonio, Tex.
