Bone Mineral Accrual Compromised in HIV-Infected Prepubertal Children
Originally published by Reuters Health, May 6, 2002
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) — HIV infection has a negative effect on bone mineral acquisition in prepubertal children, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Dr. Stephen M. Arpadi, of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, and colleagues report this finding in the April 15th issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
In a cross-sectional study of 51 HIV-infected children and 262 healthy children between 4 and 14 years old, mean total body bone mineral content as measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was significantly lower in the HIV-infected group, 955 grams versus 1106 grams, respectively (p = 0.0006). Reductions in bone mineral remained after adjusting for age, sex, race, height, and weight, and the magnitude of the reductions increased with age.
"We anticipated there might be problems in bone mineral content in children and adolescents infected with HIV," Dr. Arpadi told Reuters Health, noting that alterations in bone mineral content are observed in adults. "Children may be even more vulnerable to the effects of HIV or treatments for HIV, which ever it turns out to be. Cumulatively, they are among the most exposed to both virus and treatments, and this is occurring during periods of growth and bone development," he said.
In this study, there was no association between the level of bone mineral content and duration of antiretroviral therapy, use of a protease inhibitor, viral load, or CD4 cell count. Dr. Arpadi and colleagues emphasize, however, that the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size.
Dr. Arpadi said research into the cause for altered bone mineralization in HIV-infected children and the development of effective means for improving bone mass accrual should be a "priority."
