Morphologic Alterations in HIV-Infected People with Lipodystrophy Are Associated with Good Adherence to HAART

AbstractObjective: To evaluate the association between adherence to drugs and morphologic alterations (MOA) in a cohort of HIV-infected patients on HAART. Method: This was a cross-sectional multicenter cohort study in eight tertiary Clinical Centers of Northern and Central Italy. Consecutive outpatients taking HAART were enrolled from August 2000 to March 2003. They completed a self-administered questionnaire for the evaluation of signs of MOA and the self-reported adherence to drugs. Main outcome measures were MOA according to the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) definition and adherence to drugs. Results: One hundred seventy-five persons were enrolled into the study. Median CD4 cell count was 522 (interquartile range [IQR] 306-720); 35% of people had undetectable HIV RNA. Patients had been taking HAART for a median of 53 months (IQR 33-62). Among enrolled patients, 83 (47%) had a diagnosis of self-reported MOA; 57 of them reported body changes of more than 12 months duration. Forty persons (23%) sel...