Carbohydrate, lipid, bone and inflammatory markers in HIV-positive adolescents on antiretroviral therapy and hormonal contraception

Background: Little is known about the cumulative effect of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) and hormonal contraception (HC) on metabolism and inflammation in HIV-positive women. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of markers for carbohydrate, lipid, bone metabolism, inflammation and coagulation in HIV-positive adolescents on ART and HC (n=37) versus on ART only (n=51) in Thailand. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to assess differences between groups. Results: The median age was 19.5 years. Most adolescents (95%) were perinatally infected. All were on ART for a median of 9 years. HC used was progestin only (n=21); combined oral contraceptive (COC) tablets (n=6) for the whole study period or alternating between progestin only and COC (n=10). Prevalence of any metabolic abnormalities was 99%. Four biomarkers were significantly higher with HC vs no HC: insulin (10.3 vs 6.2μU/mL, P=0.002), insulin resistance (1.89 vs 1.19 mass units, P=0.005), 25-OH vitamin D (33.2 vs 20.2ng/mL, P