Early treated HIV-infected children remain at risk of growth retardation during the first five years of life: Results from the ANRS-PEDIACAM cohort in Cameroon.

Abstract

BackgroundLong-term growth in HIV-infected infants treated early in resource-limited settings is poorly documented. Incidence of growth retardation, instantaneous risk of death related to malnutrition and growth parameters evolution during the first five years of life of uninfected and early treated HIV-infected children were compared and associated factors with growth retardation were identified.MethodsWeight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-length (WLZ), and length-for-age (LAZ) Z-scores were calculated. The ANRS-PEDIACAM cohort includes four groups of infants with three enrolled during the first week of life: HIV-infected (HI, n = 69), HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU, n = 205) and HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU, n = 196). The last group included HIV-infected infants diagnosed before 7 months of age (HIL, n = 141). The multi-state Markov model was used to describe the incidence of growth retardation and identified associated factors.ResultsDuring the first 5 years, 27.5% of children experienced underweight (WAZConclusionsHIV-infected children remained at high risk of wasting and stunting within the first 5 years period of follow-up. There is a need of identifying suitable nutritional support and best ways to integrate it with cART in pediatric HIV infection global care.