De Beer, Carmen CorneliaKruger, EsedraVan der Linde, JeannieEccles, RenataGraham, Marien Alet2021-02-122021-02-122020Cornelia de Beer C, Krüger E, van der Linde J, Eccles R, Graham MA. Developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed infants in a low-income South African context. African Health Sciences 2020;20(4):1734-41. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i4.25.1680-6905 (online)10.4314/ahs.v20i4.25http://hdl.handle.net/2263/78549BACKGROUND: Effective HIV transmission prevention strategies have led to a growing population of vulnerable HIV- and antiretroviral-exposed infants in sub-Saharan Africa, however uncertainty exists regarding their development. OBJECTIVE: To determine the developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed (HE) infants in a low-income South African context, when compared to HIV-unexposed (HU) counterparts. METHODS: In this prospective cross-sectional, group comparison study, the development of 41 HE and 40 HU infants (mean age=8.4 months, SD=2.1 months) from a low-income context was assessed. Caregivers were interviewed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) to evaluate infants’ development. RESULTS: Most HE participants had age-appropriate overall development (90.2%;n=37). Some HE participants, however, presented with delays in domains of communication (9.8%;n=4), daily living skills (2.4%;n=1), socialisation (19.5%;n=8), and motor development (7.3%;n=3). HU participants also demonstrated some domain-specific delays, thus delays were present in both groups. No statistically significant between-group differences regarding development were found. CONCLUSION: Findings were reassuring and suggested that HE and HU participants had similar development. Developmental differences may, however, only emerge with age, therefore large-scale longitudinal research is recommended. It is suggested that the entire sample was vulnerable, highlighting the importance of developmental surveillance in low-income contexts, irrespective of HIV and antiretroviral exposure status.en© 2020 Cornelia de Beer C et al. Licensee African Health Sciences. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0).Developmental outcomesHIV-exposed infantsLow-income contextHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV)Article