Muscle strength in young children perinatally infected with HIV who were initiated on antiretroviral therapy early

Background. As children with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) are living longer, long-term physical sequelae of the disease becoming more pertinent. Muscle strength is known to be adversely affected in adults infected but little about muscle PHIV. Objectives. To determine compared an uninfected control group. Associations between clinical and anthropometric variables were investigated. Methods. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 175 who 171 HIV-uninfected had their assessed by hand-held dynamometry ‘make test’. Clinical data extracted from children’s clinic files. Height weight using a stadiometer digital scale, respectively. Children ages 5 11 years age at assessment. The all been initiated on antiretroviral treatment (ART) young (mean (standard deviation (SD)) 8.7 (6.7) months) was well controlled. Results. Despite presenting significantly lower height, body mass index (BMI) for z-scores, there no statistical difference two groups. BMI Tanner staging associated both Conclusions. ART early whose controlled able attain near-normal strength. Longitudinal follow-up these as they go through puberty warranted.