Cohort profile: The Kisalaya cohort of mother-infant dyads in rural south India (2008-2012)

The Kisalaya cohort was established in 2008, providing integrated antenatal care (ANC) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in order to reduce adverse birth outcomes and pediatric HIV infections. The program used a mobile clinic model to deliver health education, ANC, and HIV/sexually transmitted infection testing and management to pregnant women in rural communities in southern India. This cohort includes pregnant women residing in 144 villages of the Mysuru taluk (a rural region) who received ANC through the mobile clinic and delivered their infants between 2008 and 2011. Of the 1,940 women registered for ANC at primary healthcare centers during this time period, 1,675 (75.6%) were enrolled in the Kisalaya cohort. Once women enrolled in the Kisalaya cohort gave birth, the cohort expanded to include the mother-infant dyads with a retention rate of 100% at follow-up visits at 15 days and at 6 months post-delivery. The baseline data collected during the Kisalaya study included both questionnaire-based data and laboratory-based investigations. Presently, a study entitled “Early life influences on adolescent mental health: a life course study of the Kisalaya birth cohort in south India” is in the process of data collection (2019-2020).