Posted on March 06, 2019
Source: NIAID
Especially in Women.
"Consistently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) as prescribed allows men and women with HIV to live long, healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to sexual partners. Yet even when the virus is well-controlled with ART, HIV can cause persistent immune activation that contributes to an increased risk of complications such as heart disease and certain cancers. New NIAID-supported research presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle sheds light on the relationship between immune activation and weight gain.
Investigators found that, among a selected group of 340 men and women with HIV, those who gained weight after beginning ART had higher levels of immune activation at the start of the study than those who maintained their weight. Women who gained weight were at a greater risk of having high immune activation levels even after taking ART, shedding light on sex-related disparities seen in certain HIV comorbidities."
