Growth and neurodevelopmental trajectories among HIV-exposed uninfected children

The reported heterogeneity in the association between HIV-exposure and neurodevelopment could be attributed to differences in study design or unmeasured confounding. Notably, HEU children are likely to experience other risk factors for delayed growth and neurodevelopment, such as poverty, undernutrition or socioeconomic disadvantage (1,5). To appropriately adjust for potential confounding factors, it is therefore central to study growth and neurodevelopment among HEU children in prospective cohorts that recruit participants during early pregnancy, conduct frequent follow-up, and collect robust anthropometric, biomedical, and socioeconomic data.
Aims
This DPhil project will investigate risk factors for delayed growth and impaired neurodevelopment among HEU and HUU children. To this end, the project has three principal aims (Figure 1):
1. Assess differences in growth and neurodevelopment at 24 months age among HIV-exposed uninfected children compared to HIV-unexposed uninfected children through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2. Assess determinants of neurodevelopment at 24 months age among HIV-exposed uninfected and HIV-unexposed uninfected children in South Africa.
3. Determine the association between types of ART regimen and perinatal outcomes among HIV exposed uninfected children in South Africa.