Altered iron metabolism in children with human immunodeficiency virus disease

Ellen Butensky James1, Paul Harmatz, Marion Lee

  • 1Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, 747 52nd Street, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. ejames@mail.cho.org

Insights

Altered iron metabolism is common in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, even with modern treatments. Further research is needed to identify children at risk for these iron metabolism changes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Hematology
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • Altered iron metabolism is prevalent in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease.
  • These metabolic alterations remain understudied in pediatric HIV populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and types of iron metabolism alterations in children with HIV disease.
  • To classify anemia in these children as iron-deficiency anemia or anemia of chronic disease.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory evaluation of 26 children diagnosed with HIV disease.
  • Assessment for anemia and classification of its type.

Main Results:

  • Half of the children exhibited altered iron metabolism.
  • Specific findings included iron deficiency (6 children), hyperferritinemia (4 children), and combined hyperferritinemia with iron deficiency (3 children).

Conclusions:

  • Alterations in iron metabolism are frequent in children with HIV, persisting even during the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era.
  • Further investigation is crucial to identify children susceptible to these iron metabolism disturbances.
Abstract

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