title: Body mass index, immune status, and virological control in HIV-infected men who have sex with men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prior cross-sectional studies have found inconsistent relationships between body mass index (BMI) and disease progression in HIV-infected individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted on data from a sample of 864 HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) obtained from a large, nationally distributed HIV clinical cohort.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 864 HIV-infected MSM, 394 (46%) were of normal weight, 363 (42%) were overweight, and 107 (12%) were obese at baseline. The baseline CD4 count was 493 (standard error [SE] = 9), with viral load (log10) = 2.4 (SE = .04), and 561 (65%) were virologically suppressed. Over time, controlling for viral load, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence, age, and race/ethnicity, overweight and obese HIV-infected men possessed higher CD4 counts than that of normal weight HIV-infected men. Further, overweight and obese men possessed lower viral loads than that of normal weight HIV-infected men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For HIV-infected MSM, in this longitudinal cohort study, possessing a heavier than normal BMI is longitudinally associated with improved immunological health.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Blashill
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Heidi M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Crane
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grasso
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Safren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015992:Body Mass Index; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
keywords: CD4; HIV/AIDS; body mass index; obesity; viral load