HIV patients likely to suffer more from osteoporosis
September 12th, 2009 | 
After introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the quality of life and survival for HIV patients have increased in the developed countries. However, these improvements have led to long-term negative disorders, namely osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is classified as a multifactorial ailment characterized by a gradual reduction in body bone mass and its mechanical resistance. Patients suffering from this disease are known to experience an increased propensity to fractures of the bone.
From News-Medical.Net:
Now, a study has been published in the Spanish review Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica [Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology] showing the increase in prevalence of this disorder in HIV-1 infected patients.
The principal investigator of the study, José Manuel Olmos, clarifies to SINC that: “As soon as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy was introduced, which we call HAART, this infection was transformed into a chronic disease with an acceptable quality of life in the developed countries”.
There are multiple reasons that explain the propensity to osteoporosis in those patients who have the virus. Some are related to the HIV-1 infection itself, such as the lymphocyte activity, the release of cytokines that stimulate bone absorption, hypogonadism (a disorder where the reproductive organs do not function), Vitamin D deficit, malnutrition or low level of physical activity. Other reasons depend on the treatment patients receive with corticosteroid and antiretroviral medicines.
According to the authors, “for the moment, it does not seem that osteoporotic fractures represent a significant problem. However, as the patient gets older a reduction in their quality of life may occur.
It was maintained by the authors that a bone densitometry scan needs to be performed wherever there is data relating to hypogonadism, treated with steroids for chronic ailment or a past history of osteoporosis induced fractures, for optimizing the prognosis of the patients.
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