HIV and Vertebral Fractures: a Systematic Review and Metanalysis

The survival of HIV-infected patients has increased with the advent of antiretroviral therapy with the emergence of new comorbidities. Vertebral fracture is a manifestation of reduced bone strength and osteoporosis. This study aims to assess the frequency of spine fractures in HIV-positive men and women aged over 18 years. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, and case-control studies. Studies that evaluated morphometric and/or clinical vertebral fracture were included. In total 488 studies were found, of which 53 had their full texts evaluated. A total of 85,411 HIV positive individuals were identified in 26 studies. The meta-analysis of the prevalence of vertebral fractures included 12 studies with 10,593 subjects. The prevalence was 11.1% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 4.5%, 25.0%, I² 98.2% p < 0.00001]. When we evaluated independently studies of clinical vertebral fracture and morphometric vertebral fracture, the prevalence was 3.9% (95% CI 0.9, 15.8, I² 96.4% p < 0.00001) and 20.2% (95% CI 15.7%, 25.6%, I² 69.9% p = 0.003) respectively. HIV-infected individuals had an odds ratio of vertebral fractures of 2.3 (95% CI 1.37, 3.85, I² 98.2% p < 0.00001) when compared with HIV-uninfected patients (n = 9 studies). In conclusion, HIV-positive subjects had a higher risk of vertebral fractures when compared with HIV-negative subjects.