Body composition in asymptomatic HIV-infected men: cross-sectional and prospective assessment

Data on body composition changes in HIV infected patients is sparse and controversial. The aim of this study was to assess body composition in asymptomatic HIV-infected men with normal body weight in comparison to healthy HIV-negative control men and to investigate possible body composition changes in HIV-positive patients over a 2-year observation period. One hundred eight asymptomatic seropositive men, aged 19-62 years, and 20 healthy sex, age and weight - matched controls were recruited for the cross-sectional part of the study. Fifty-eight of the HIV+ patients were followed up for 2 years. Body weight, BMI, Bone Mineral Content (BMC), body Fat mass (Fat), % Fat, body Lean mass (Lean) and % Lean was recorded for each subject at the beginning and at the end of the follow-up period. The same analysis was repeated separately for arms, trunk and legs. HIV+ men had increased fat mass and reduced lean mass compared to controls (%Fat in HIV+ 24.3, %Fat in controls 19.2, p=0.012; %Lean in HIV+ 72.1, %Lean in controls 77.0, p=0.014). Lean mass was lower in extremities while fat mass was higher in the trunk region in HIV+ in comparison to controls, irrespective of antiretroviral therapy. Longitudinally, patients with higher baseline %Fat (>24.2, median) presented 20% decrease in fat mass while patients with lower baseline %Fat (< or =24.2) showed a smaller, non-significant decrease in fat mass accompanied by a significant decrease (2.52%) in lean mass. Fat loss occurred in all subjects predominantly in the extremities (16.5-36.45% loss), with relative preservation of trunk fat. It is concluded that otherwise asymptomatic HIV+ men exhibit subtle body composition changes involving reduced lean mass and increased central fat mass. The pattern of weight loss over time depends on baseline fat store: patients with adequate fat stores lose predominantly fat while patients with lower baseline fat stores lose both fat and lean mass. In the entire cohort, there is a tendency towards central adiposity, with the majority of fat being lost from the extremities, a picture resembling metabolic x syndrome.