BACKGROUND: Few data exist regarding the effect of hormonal contraception (HC) on incidence and progression of cervical disease (e.g., cervical dysplasia, squamous intraepithelial lesions, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) in HIV-infected African women.

STUDY DESIGN: We conducted an observational study of HIV-seropositive women in Johannesburg, South Africa. The effect of individual HC types on the incidence and progression of cervical disease was determined using Poisson regression to obtain adjusted incidence rate ratios.

RESULTS: We evaluated 594 HIV-infected women, with median follow-up time of 445 days; 75 of these women were receiving some form of HC (largely DMPA, NET-EN, or COCs) at baseline. Risks of incidence and progression of cervical disease were similar comparing women not receiving HCs to women receiving DMPA, NET-EN, or COCs both individually by HC-type and considering all HC together.

CONCLUSIONS: There was no statistically significant effect of particular HC methods or of HC use in general on rates of incidence or progression of cervical disease in this study. These results should reassure us that use of HC is unlikely to substantially increase risks of cervical disease among HIV-positive women.