Antiretroviral initiation is associated with increased skeletal muscle area and fat content

Objective: A greater burden of physical function impairment occurs in HIV-infected adults; the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation on muscle density (less dense = more fat), a measure of muscle quality, is unknown. Design: AIDS Clinical Trials Group Study A5260s, a cardiometabolic substudy of A5257, randomized HIV-infected, ART-naive adults to ritonavir-boosted atazanavir, darunavir, or raltegravir with tenofovir/emtricitabine backbone. Single-slice abdominal computed tomography scans from baseline and week 96 were reanalyzed for total and lean muscle area and density. Methods: Two-sample t-tests described the differences between baseline and week 96 variables. Linear regression analysis was used to explore the role of a priori identified variables and potential confounders. Results: Participants (n = 235) were mostly men (90%); 31% were Black non-Hispanic; 21% were Hispanic. Over 96 weeks, small but significant increases were seen in oblique/transverse abdominal, rectus, and psoas muscle total area (range 0.21–0.83 cm2; P 
Source: AIDS - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Clinical Science Source Type: research