Abstract
The use of antiretroviral drugs has increased the survival of HIV patients, but may have side effects, such as lipodystrophic syndrome. This article aims to identify the frequency of the lipodystrophic syndrome and its associated factors in patients with HIV using antiretroviral therapy. It involved a cross-sectional study with HIV patients, monitored on an outpatient basis. The syndrome was evaluated by the association of two parameters: peripheral weight loss through the lipodystrophy severity scale and central fat accumulation, measured by the hip waist ratio. Poisson regression analysis was performed to identify the associated variables. Of the 104 patients evaluated, 27.9% presented the syndrome. After adjustment, the female sex (PRadjusted = 2.16 CI95% 1.43-3.39), being overweight (PRadjusted = 2.23 CI95% 1.35-2.65) and a longer period of use of antiretrovirals (PRadjusted = 1.64 CI95% 1.16-2.78), remained positively associated with the syndrome. On the other hand, a negative association with CD4 count £ 350 (PRadjusted = 0.39 CI95% 0.10-0.97) was observed The high prevalence of the syndrome and its association with specific groups reinforce the need for adequate follow-up and early identification to intervene in modifiable factors.
Highlights
Treatment for infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) involves antiretroviral therapy (ART), which inhibits the replication of the virus and is a benchmark in therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), increasing the life expectancy of affected individuals[1]
Among the 104 individuals living with HIV who participated in the present study, 68.3% were men, mean age was 41.11 ± 11.46 years and 27.9% (n = 29) had HIV-associated lipodystrophy (Table 1)
Among the sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, only the female sex had a greater probability of lipodystrophy (PR = 2.31, p = 0.013) in the bivariate analysis (Table 1)
Summary
Treatment for infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) involves antiretroviral therapy (ART), which inhibits the replication of the virus and is a benchmark in therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), increasing the life expectancy of affected individuals[1]. The use of ART has numerous side effects, including HIV-associated lipodystrophy. This outcome is associated with greater cardiovascular risk, morbidity and mortality and alters body esthetics, which can compromise one’s self-esteem, leading to a reduction in adherence to therapy[3,4]. Lipodystrophy is defined as a combination of the loss of peripheral fat (lipoatrophy) and the accumulation of central fat (lipohypertrophy). It was first denominated a syndrome in 1998 and includes metabolic disorders[5,6]
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