title: Bone, fracture and frailty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review details recent findings from cohort studies that inform the prevalence, incidence and effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV infection on low bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis and fractures in different populations of HIV-infected individuals. Although ART has been spectacularly effective in prevention of disease progression and improvement in survival, the effects of ART on bone health require more research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both HIV infection and ART are associated with significant bone loss in HIV-infected individuals. The clinical consequence of low BMD, fragility fractures are more common in older HIV patients, but the significance of low BMD remains unclear in younger individuals. Vitamin D deficiency is common, but the prevalence is no different to the general population, and no effect on BMD has been noted in cross-sectional studies. Frailty occurs at a prevalence of about 10% and is related to impaired immunity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review examines the contributions from recent cohort studies to the understanding of the pathogenesis of bone loss in HIV, and the complex and poorly understood relationship between the effects of HIV and that of ART on bone loss.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, The Alfred Hospital, and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Jennifer.Hoy@monash.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoy
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000139:chemically induced; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents