Background African-born individuals in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by HIV yet have low HIV testing rates. We conducted a mixed methods study to assess the uptake and feasibility of a novel strategy for integrating HIV testing into residential health fairs among African-born individuals in Seattle, WA. Methods From April to May 2018, we held six health fairs at three apartment complexes with high numbers of African-born residents. Fairs included free point-of-care screening for glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, blood pressure, and HIV, as well as social services and health education. The health fairs were hosted in apartment complex common areas with HIV testing conducted in private rooms. Health fair participants completed a series of questionnaires to evaluate demographics, access to health services, and HIV testing history. We conducted 18 key informant interviews (KIIs) with health fair participants and community leaders to identify barriers to HIV testing among African-born individuals. Results Of the 111 adults who accessed at least one service at a health fair, 92 completed questionnaires. Fifty-five (61%) were female, 48 (52%) were born in Africa, and 55 (63%) had health insurance. Half of African-born participants accepted HIV testing; all tested negative. The most common reasons for declining testing were lack of perceived risk for HIV and knowledge of HIV status. We identified a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among health fair participants; among those tested, 77% (55/71) were overweight/obese, 39% (31/79) had blood pressure > 140/90 mmHg, and 30% (22/73) had total cholesterol > 200 mg/dL. KIIs identified community stigma and misinformation as major barriers to HIV testing among African-born individuals. Conclusions Residential health fairs are a feasible method to increase HIV testing among African-born individuals in Seattle. The high prevalence of NCDs highlights the importance of integrating general preventive services within HIV testing programs in this population.

Objective To investigate the associations of placental telomere length with placental abruption (PA) risk and interactions between placental telomere length and placental mtDNA copy number on PA risk. Materials and methods Relative telomere length and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in placental samples collected from 105 cases and 73 controls were measured in two batches using qRT-PCR. Mean differences in relative telomere length between PA cases and controls were examined. After creating batch-specific median cutoffs for relative telomere length (84.92 and 102.53) and mtDNA copy number (2.32 and 1.42), interaction between the two variables was examined using stratified logistic regression models. Results Adjusted mean difference in relative telomere length between PA cases and controls was −0.07 (p>0.05). Among participants with low mtDNA copy number, participants with short relative telomere length had a 3.07-fold higher odds (95%CI:1.13–8.38) of PA as compared with participants with long relative telomere length (the reference group). Among participants with high mtDNA copy number, participants with short relative telomere length had a 0.71-fold lower odds (95%CI:0.28–1.83) of PA as compared with the reference group (interaction p-value=0.03). Conclusion Findings suggest complex relationships between placental telomere length, mtDNA copy number, and PA risk which warrants further larger studies.