Hormone contraceptive, used every three months, is a growing popular form of birth control for women living in eastern and southern African countries, however, it appears that this trend is doubling the risk of HIV transmission.
A new study released Monday finds that African-American women using an injectable hormone contraceptive are twice as likely to spread the virus to their male partners, compared to women who use no contraception.
“These findings have important implications for family planning and HIV-1 prevention programs, especially in settings with high HIV-1 prevalence”, said study researcher Jared Baeten, of the University of Washington.
The results may present women with challenges as affordable and convenient forms of contraception are more difficult to come by in low-income countries. Hundreds of thousands of women on the African continent suffer injuries, bleeding, infections and even death in childbirth from unintended pregnancies. Researchers noted that the results seem to support the notion that certain injectable hormonal contraceptives may have some biological properties that are making men and women more vulnerable to HIV infection, adding that the contraceptive’s use could lead to a major health crisis if its risks are not recognized.
The study involved nearly 4,000 couples in Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Each couple involved one partner that tested positive for HIV, while the other partner did not. Most of the couples were followed for two years, and during this time, they tracked the contraceptive methods used, while monitoring if the uninfected partner became infected with HIV over the two years. Following the conclusion of the study, women with HIV were found to be twice as likely to spread the HIV virus to their partners, while using the injectable hormonal contraceptive.
Researchers are still trying to confirm how the hormonal contraceptive is involved in increasing the spread of HIV. Potentially, these women have increased concentrations of HIV virus inside the cervix, thus making their partners more susceptible. Further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Because of this and other caveats, both the study researchers and authors of an accompanying commentary say a clinical trial is urgently needed to properly investigate the link.
In countries where unintended pregnancies are common, injectable hormone contraceptives are popular. It allows the women to be in control of family planning. Today, about 12 million women, between 15 and 49 years old, in sub-Saharan Africa use the contraceptive. Totally, roughly 6 percent of all women in that age group. In the U.S., 1.2 million women use the injectable contraceptive, leading them to share the heightened vulnerability.
