Prevalence of low bone mass and changes in vitamin D levels in human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults unexposed to antiretrovirals

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Nathalia Sernizon Guimarães, Milena Maria Moreira Guimarães, Adriana Maria Kakehasi, Mariana Guimarães Penido de Paula, Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali, Érica Leandro Marciano Vieira, Pedro Rezende Tanajura, Unaí Tupinambás
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Bone mass; Vitamin D; HIV; People living with HIV; Biomarker; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0475-2017; https://doaj.org/article/f62916e58b31488faad39a4bf820417c

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of low bone mass is 3 times higher in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) and using antiretrovirals than in the HIV-unaffected population. Changes in vitamin D levels is one of the factors associated with decreased bone mass. The objective of this study is to evaluate the low bone mass and altered vitamin D levels in PLWH who have not been exposed to antiretrovirals. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with HIV-infected individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 years immediately prior to the start of antiretroviral therapy in a specialized reference center focusing on infectious and parasitic diseases. Results of clinical examination (patient’s weight, height, blood pressure, and clinical history), laboratory tests, and X-ray absorptiometry, were collected. RESULTS: Sixty patients were included, with a mean age of 34 years. Nine (16.7%) patients presented with low bone mass and 4 (7.1%) patients showed low total femur BMD. Analysis revealed that 23.3% and 36.7% of the patients had deficient and insufficient levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study population presented with compromised bone health and with low bone mineral density and 25-(OH)-vitamin D levels.