Antiretroviral therapy and weight gain in naive HIV-1 infected patient: a narrative review.

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in recent decades worldwide. An increase in the prevalence of obesity has also been observed among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in high and low incomes countries. Antiretroviral therapy (ART), by controlling the viral load (VL) and restoring cellular immunity, has improved the health status and life expectancy in PLHIV. However, the risk of developing non-AIDS events (NAEs) remains higher than the general population. Therefore, specific attention is given to managing risk factors associated with NAEs during the follow-up of PLHIV, including obesity. Factors related to weight gain in PLHIV include demographic factors, HIV disease-related factors, and ART-associated factors. In naive PLHIV, weight gain after the initiation of ART is expected. The weight gains observed are generally not severe even if there appear to be risk factors such as the advanced stage of disease (low CD4 cells count and high VL), female sex, black race, and taking integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) associated or not with tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF). The role of each antiretroviral drug per-se remains to clarify. As INSTI ± TAF has been associated with significant weight gain, further research is needed to identify the individual-level factors predictive of weight gain, the mechanisms of ART-associated weight gain and the clinical relevance of this weight gain. As PLHIV survive longer on effective ART, the prevention and management of NAEs will remain a challenge for healthcare providers.