Obesity and the diseases caused by being overweight are common among those with the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Researcher’s study’s overarching objective was to identify and assess characteristics associated with weight increase in a retrospective cohort of adults living with HIV and similarly situated HIV-negative veterans (controls). People with HIV (n=22,421) and HIV-negative controls (n=63,072) of the same age were included in a retrospective database study taken from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse. Body weight at diagnosis and weight gain or loss 1, 2, and 5 years later were the primary success measures (baseline visit for controls). People living with HIV had a decreased baseline body weight compared to controls. Weight gain was observed in those living with HIV who were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) compared to controls. More weight gain at year 1 was seen in a sub-analysis of ART-exposed HIV patients when the patients were older than 50 years old, African American had a BMI below 25, had a CD4 count below 200, and had been diagnosed with HIV after the year 2000. In comparison to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) plus protease inhibitors, NRTIs plus integrase inhibitors, and NRTIs plus other medicines, NRTIs plus NNRTIs were linked with decreased weight gain in year 1. HIV-positive US veterans exhibited lower rates of obesity than HIV-negative veterans of the same age, but those living with HIV gained more weight than controls, especially in the first 2 years after beginning ART.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hiv.13366
