Effect of pre-existing malnutrition on growth parameters in HIV-infected children commencing antiretroviral therapy

Authors: Bandyopadhyay, A.; Bhattacharyya, S.

Source: Annals of Tropical Paediatrics: International Child Health, Volume 28, Number 4, December 2008 , pp. 279-285(7)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

Buy & download fulltext article:

OR

Price: $48.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Or sign up for a free trial

Abstract:

Background: Growth in HIV-infected children generally improves with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Little is known about the effect of pre-existing malnutrition on response to treatment.

Aim: To evaluate prospectively the effect of pre-existing malnutrition on growth of HIV-infected children commenced on ART compared with those without pre-existing malnutrition.

Methods: Inclusion criteria were children (2 months to 8.5 years) who were commenced on ART. Exclusion criteria were pre-treatment with ART, virological non-responders and co-existing tuberculous infection. Weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age Z scores (HAZ) ≤−2 at the initiation of treatment were the criteria for malnutrition. Monthly height and weight measurements were made for 18 months (2007–2008) after initiation of ART. Z scores were used to express changes in standard deviation (SD) units for each of the children at 0 and 18 months of the study using WHO height and weight reference curves for age and gender. The changes in Z score were compared within the groups by paired t-test and in both groups by the Mann–Whitney U test.

Results: The subjects were grouped as malnourished (G1) and not malnourished (G2) before initiation of treatment. There was a significant increase in HAZ score (mean −0.15, p=0.006) and WAZ score (mean −0.09, p=0.034) in G1 and also HAZ score (mean −0.29, p<0.001) and WAZ score (mean −0.30, p=0.001) in G2. There was a trend toward a significantly greater Z-score change in G2 than in G1 for height (p=0.027) and weight (p=0.046).

Conclusion: In HIV-infected children, pre-existing malnutrition may impair nutritional response to ART.

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/146532808X375440

Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics (Medicine), Calcutta Medical College, Kolkata, India

Publication date: 2008-12-01

More about this publication?
Related content

Tools

Key

Free Content
Free content
New Content
New content
Open Access Content
Open access content
Subscribed Content
Subscribed content
Free Trial Content
Free trial content

Text size:

A | A | A | A
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. print icon Print this page