STAR
The Study of Treatment and Reproductive Outcomes (STAR) was established in 2019. The cohort sought to answer questions related to the effects of HIV infection and HIV-related medical conditions on women of reproductive age. It built on the work of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), which was developed in 1993 and was one of the largest federally funded longitudinal cohort studies of HIV among US women. In 2019, the WIHS merged with the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), a cohort of gay and bisexual men started in 1984, to form the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS). Utilizing the backbone of the MWCCS, STAR was developed to obtain information on reproductive-aged women living with HIV and those at risk for HIV infection, focusing on the southeastern United States.
STAR study sites in Atlanta GA, Birmingham AL, Jackson MS, Chapel Hill NC, Miami FL, and Washington DC recruited and retained more than 1,000 reproductive-aged women living with and without HIV.
The cohort recently received funding to continue this important work. This next phase of the study (2026-2032) will be known as STAR 2.0. STAR 2.0 will recruit and retain 1,100 reproductive-aged women living with and without HIV from the same study sites as STAR 1.0. In addition to these women, approximately 300 of their newborn infants will be followed to evaluate infant outcomes via chart abstraction.
STAR study visits will rigorously collect sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and outcome data as well as biospecimens (i.g. serum, plasma, cells, urine, cervical swabs, hair, and oral swabs) to promote multidisciplinary HIV/AIDS research. The cohort’s research efforts seek to respond to the distinctive health needs of reproductive-aged women living with HIV. The STAR cohort has the potential to ultimately improve the health of young women living with HIV, optimize the gains of HIV treatments, and contribute to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.