Effect of strength training on people with HIV and immunometabolic disorders

Abstract

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was able to help to control viral condition in patients living with HIV/AIDS, diminishing virus concentration and increasing T CD4 + cells. However, adverse effects follow the treatment, like lipodystrophy syndrome, characterized by morphological changes in body fat distribution and changes serum lipids and glycides levels, increasing the risk for chronical diseases with cardiovascular effects. Thus, complimentary non-drug practices, as strength training, are essential to treat these patients, helping to improve their immunometabolic condition, leading to a better coping with the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a 12-week strength training protocol on immunometabolic system of people living with HIV/AIDS. It is a quasi-experimental study, conducted on 20 patients (16 men), all living with HIV/AIDS using HAART. T CD4 + cell numbers, serum triglycerides, cholesterol (total and fractions) and glycemia were measured before and after training. The data underwent to descriptive statistics using a paired T test, with the significance level set at p <0.05.There was a significant increase of 15.4% (p=0.009) on T CD4 + cells and, although not statistically significant, reduction on glycemia, total cholesterol and triglycerides and increase on HDL-cholesterol fraction. So, it is suggested that strength training may be effective on immunometabolic condition of people living with HIV / AIDS, increasing T CD4+ cells and controlling serum levels of lipids and glycides.