Hypovitaminosis D and bone mineral density in human immunodeficiency virus-infected men from India, with or without antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To study the vitamin D status and bone mineral density (BMD) in men infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a tertiary care center from southern India.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 35 HIV-infected men (between 20 and 50 years old) receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (group 1) in comparison with 35 age- and body mass index-matched HIV-positive antiretroviral therapy-naïve men (group 2) and 35 HIV-negative healthy control subjects (group 3).
RESULTS: A significantly greater proportion (P = .002) of patients (74%) in the HAART group had vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) in comparison with the other 2 groups (37% in each group). The mean intact parathyroid hormone level was higher (P<.001) and the mean duration of exposure to sunlight was lower (P = .001) in the HAART group than in the other 2 groups. By logistic regression analysis, HAART was found to be significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency. The BMD in the femoral neck was significantly lower in men with HIV infection who were receiving HAART in comparison with the other 2 groups (P = .006). On multivariate logistic regression, older age, low body mass index, and high parathyroid hormone levels emerged as factors significantly associated with decreased BMD at the femoral neck.
CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of patients receiving HAART had vitamin D deficiency. The secondary hyperparathyroidism probably due to vitamin D deficiency is an important contributing factor for the observed changes in BMD. Vitamin D deficiency noted in this group is probably multifactorial, and further research is needed to determine whether the effect of HAART on vitamin D metabolism is an additional causative factor and what benefit vitamin D supplementation might confer in these patients.