Transition to dolutegravir is associated with an increase in the rate of BMI change in a cohort of virally suppressed adolescents.

BACKGROUND Antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens that contain Dolutegravir (DTG) have been associated with increases in body mass index (BMI) in adults. However, this relationship has not been well described in adolescents. METHODS In a retrospective observational cohort of 460 virally suppressed (< 200 copies/ml) adolescents living with HIV at a clinical site in Eswatini, body mass index (BMI) measurements were analyzed between 1 year prior to the transition to DTG and up to 1 year after DTG transition. Random-effects linear spline models were used to describe the rate of change in BMI before and after the transition to DTG. RESULTS In adolescents BMI increased at a rate of 0.3 kg/m 2 per year before DTG transition and increased to a rate of 1.2 kg/m 2 per year after DTG transition. Sex of the adolescent modified the relationship between DTG and rate of BMI change; BMI rate of change was increased by 1.1 kg/m 2 in females and 0.6 kg/m 2 per year after DTG transition in males. CONCLUSIONS Transition to DTG in virally suppressed adolescents, age 10 to 19, is associated with an increase in the rate of BMI change. Female adolescents may experience a larger change than males. Further investigation is required to elucidate the mechanism that underlies these observations and to assess how DTG impacts BMI in adolescents following longer durations of treatment.