BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES IN MEN WITH HIV/HCV COINFECTION, HIV MONOINFECTION, AND HCV MONOINFECTION

Both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represent systemic diseases that may develop metabolic complications, thus HIV/HCV coinfection metabolic changes need to be depicted.

We aimed to evaluate the body composition changes in patients with either HIV and HCV monoinfections or HIV/HCV coinfection.

123 young men divided into three groups: 41 with HIV/HCV coinfection, 42 with HIV-monoinfection, and 40 with HCV-monoinfection were evaluated for total and regional bone and soft tissue body composition assessments using a Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and were compared with 40 healthy men with age and body mass index similar to the study groups. To detect sarcopenia, we calculated the appendicular limbs' lean mass index (ALMI), for obesity, we used the percent of body fat, and for lipodystrophy, we calculated the trunk/limbs index.

HIV/HCV coinfection is associated with a significant higher bone demineralization in all regions of interest compared to HCV or HIV monoinfections and to controls. The prevalence of bone demineralization in HIV/HCV patients was 31.7%, more frequently at lumbar spine. Fat mass and lean mass were significantly lower in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients than in controls. Lipodystrophy was found in similar percentages in all three evaluated groups (80.4% in HIV/HCV, 92.5% in HIV, and 95% in the HCV group). Sarcopenia was higher in HIV/HCV group (43.9%) and important in HCV-monoinfection group (30%).

HIV/HCV-coinfected patients had the highest prevalence of bone demineralization, fat mass, and lean mass loss, compared to controls and to HIV and HCV monoinfections.