Iron status and indicators of human immunodeficiency virus disease severity among pregnant women in Malawi

The relationships among hemoglobin, ferritin, and transferrin receptor levels and 2 markers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease severity-HIV load and CD4(+) lymphocyte count-were characterized among 483 pregnant women in Malawi, Africa. The only significant correlation was an inverse correlation between hemoglobin level and plasma HIV load (r = -.104; P < .03). The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was not significantly different across quartiles of HIV load or CD4(+) lymphocyte count. In contrast to previous studies, these data suggest that iron status is not related to markers of HIV disease severity in pregnant women in Africa.