Contraceptive and sexually transmitted diseases protection among adult and adolescent women infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

The goal of this study was to describe contraceptive and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention practices in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected adult and adolescent women, and to determine if hormonal contraception has unique adverse effects in this population. A retrospective review of 241 HIV-infected women age 15-45 years was performed. The associations between contraceptive methods and selected characteristics were determined by chi-square methods and logistic regression modelling. African American race (RR 8.6, 95% CI 3.3, 22.5), injection drug use history (RR 5.0, 95% CI 2.2, 11.2), age < 25 years (RR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1, 3.5) and progestin only contraceptive use (RR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4, 6.6) were significantly associated with incident STDs. The only potential adverse effect of hormonal contraception noted in this retrospective study was the significant association between STDs and progestin-only contraception. Prospective studies to better delineate the true association between STDs and progestin-only agents after adjustment for behaviour patterns are warranted.