NIH grant: Identifying Unique Life Course Health Needs of Women Living with Perinatally Acquired HIV in the United States to Inform Health Policy and Care Practice (1R01HD122574-01)

retained text

NIH grant 1R01HD122574-01: Identifying Unique Life Course Health Needs of Women Living with Perinatally Acquired HIV in the United States to Inform Health Policy and Care Practice
Institute: {'code': 'HD', 'abbreviation': 'NICHD', 'name': 'Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development', 'admin_org_id': '12500030', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Kathleen  Powis. Award: $2070401.
Start: 2026-07-10T00:00:00.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the maturing HIV epidemic, over 10,000 women in the United States (US) born with HIV or who acquired
HIV in infancy are now reaching their 4th and 5th decades of life. While it has been definitively established that
women living with HIV experience higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to women who are
HIV seronegative, CVD risk in the population of women with perinatally acquired HIV (paHIV) has never been
evaluated and requires an appropriate comparator group, women who acquired HIV later in life. Women with
paHIV have had a lifetime of exposure to the HIV virus, as well as alterations in their immune system caused
by HIV, including chronic immune activation and inflammation, and years of receiving a variety of antiretroviral
drugs. It is likely that this population’s risk of CVD is higher and occurs earlier than that observed in women
with non-perinatally acquired HIV (npaHIV). Importantly CVD risk in this group may reflect a unique metabolic
pathway compared to women with npaHIV. Additionally, other factors may potentiate CVD risk, such as earlier
onset of menopause transition, as it is already known that the general population of women with HIV
experience menopause approximately 3 years earlier than women who are HIV-seronegative. But the timing of
this known CVD risk factor has never been studied in women with paHIV, again against an appropriate
comparator group of women with npaHIV. In the Supporting Health IN LifE Course Needs of Women with
Perinatally Acquired HIV (SHINE) study, we propose performing metabolomics on plasma samples from
women ages 30-40 years who participated in the US-based HOPE study (R01 HD101351), 31% of whom have
paHIV, with the remainder being women with npaHIV, to determine if women with paHIV have a unique
metabolic signature of CVD risk compared to women with npaHIV. This analysis will also allow us to determine
if timing of emergence of a CVD risk metabolic signature occurs at an earlier age in women with paHIV, a
finding which would warrant specific CVD preventative care guidelines for the population of women with paHIV.
We will also assay anti-Müllerian hormone from plasma samples of women ages 18-40 participating in the
HOPE study, as this is a well-recognized marker of ovarian reserve, to determine if ovarian depletion, reflective
of onset of menopause transition, occurs at an earlier age in women with paHIV compared to women with
npaHIV. Lastly, we will establish a prospective observational cohort of 300 women living with HIV, ages 30-45
years, frequency matching women with paHIV 2:1 to women with npaHIV in order to understand prevalence
and incidence of CVD events and menopause transition symptoms, and participant satisfaction with healthcare
received for these issues. Significant strides in treatment and care of HIV have enabled women with paHIV to
reach the 4th and 5th decades of life. The proposed work of the SHINE study is designed to shed light on
unique health risks of this population and identify whether tailored guidelines are needed to maximize the
health and wellbeing of women with paHIV and to inform the content of these guidelines, if required.

document fetched 2026-07-19 08:08