Human immunodeficiency virus infection among inner-city adolescent parturients undergoing routine voluntary screening, July 1987 to March 1991.

Abstract

The objective of our study was to describe the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic among pregnant adolescents undergoing follow-up in a large inner-city hospital. We conducted a case-control study comparing demographic and risk behaviors of seropositive and seronegative adolescents (aged 13 to 20) identified from a population undergoing routine voluntary antibody screening at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, between July 1987 and March 1991. Of 10,794 pregnant adolescents screened, 51 (4.7/1000) were infected with human immunodeficiency virus. More than one fourth of case patients were < or = 17 years old. Significantly more case patients than controls reported a history of crack cocaine use (10 [19.6%] vs 23 [8.2%] p < 0.05). A majority (58.8%) of case patients reported no risk factors for infection, and the remainder (41.2%) were presumably infected by heterosexual contact. Thirty-nine controls (13.8%) had self-identified risk factors for infection. Pregnant adolescents in our center are at risk for human immunodeficiency virus infection and should be targeted for human immunodeficiency virus education and risk reduction counseling.