HIV-associated immune dysfunction and delayed pubertal development in a cohort of young hemophiliacs. Hemophilia Growth and Development Study.
As part of the Hemophilia Growth and Development Study (HGDS), we investigated the relationship between HIV-associated immune dysfunction and delayed pubertal development in a cohort of 333 boys and adolescents with moderate or severe hemophilia who were between the ages of 6 and 19 years at study entry in 1989. Sixty-two percent of the cohort was infected with HIV in the late 1970s and early 1980s through exposure to contaminated clotting factor concentrates. The cohort was observed during follow-up at 6-month intervals; measurements taken at each follow-up visit included Tanner stage and CD4+ cell count. This analysis of data from the first 4 years of follow-up revealed statistically significant delays in pubertal development associated with increasing levels of immune dysfunction. Our results emphasize the importance of following pubertal development in HIV-infected adolescent boys since delays in maturation may reflect underlying disease progression.
Mahoney
E M
EM
Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. eliz@hp3.eushc.org
Donfield
S M
SM
Howard
C
C
Kaufman
F
F
Gertner
J M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011628:Puberty, Delayed / Q000209:etiology*