BackgroundThe prevalence and factors associated with overweight/obesity among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons are unknown.MethodsWe evaluated prospective data from a U.S. Military HIV Natural History Study (1985–2004) consisting of early diagnosed patients. Statistics included multivariate linear regression and longitudinal linear mixed effects models.ResultsOf 1682 patients, 2% were underweight, 37% were overweight, and 9% were obese at HIV diagnosis. Multivariate predictors of a higher body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis included more recent year of HIV diagnosis, older age, African American race, and earlier HIV stage (all p<0.05). The majority of patients (62%) gained weight during HIV infection. Multivariate factors associated with a greater increase in BMI during HIV infection included more recent year of diagnosis, lower BMI at diagnosis, higher CD4 count, lower HIV RNA level, lack of AIDS diagnosis, and longer HIV duration (all p<0.05). Nucleoside agents were associated with less weight gain; other drug classes had no significant impact on weight change in the HAART era.ConclusionsHIV-infected patients are increasingly overweight/obese at diagnosis and during HIV infection. Weight gain appears to reflect improved health status and mirror trends in the general population. Weight management programs may be important components of HIV care.

Objective To describe trends in incidence rates of AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs) and non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) during the HIV epidemic and to evaluate predictors, including the impact of antiretroviral therapy, of cancer development. Design Retrospective analysis of a multicenter, prospective natural history study including 4,498 HIV-infected U.S. military beneficiaries with 33,486 person-years of follow-up. Methods Predictors evaluated included demographics, clinical data, time-updated CD4 cell counts, HIV viral loads, and antiretroviral history. Time periods were classified as early pre- (1984-1990), late pre- (1991-1995), early post- (1996-2000), and late post-(2001-2006) HAART eras. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association of specific factors with cancer. Results Ten percent of HIV-infected persons developed cancer. ADC rates increased between the early and late pre-HAART eras (7.6 and 14.2 cases per 1000 person years) and have since declined from 5.4 to 2.7 in the early and late HAART eras, respectively (p<0.001). Rates of NADCs have risen over the four time periods (2.9, 2.8, 4.2, 6.7, p=0.0004). During the late HAART era, 71% of cancers were NADCs. Predictors for ADCs included low CD4 cell count, non-cancer AIDS diagnosis, and lack of HAART. NADCs were predicted by increasing age, Caucasian race (due to skin cancers), and lack of HAART. Conclusions Although the rate of ADCs continues to fall, the rate of NADCs is rising and now accounts for the majority of cancers in HIV-infected persons. The development of NADCs is associated with increasing age among HIV patients. HAART is protective for both ADCs and NADCs.

Objective-To evaluate the incidence rates of anal cancer over the HIV epidemic and assess the impact of HAART use on anal cancer events.Methods-We evaluated the incidence of and factors associated with anal cancer using longitudinal data from the prospective U.S. Natural History Study . Poisson regression and Cox proportional hazard models were utilized. NIH Public Access