Functional Impairment in HIV-Infected Patients

In aging HIV-uninfected individuals, immune activation and inflammatory markers are associated with declines in physical function and increased frailty. Given evidence that, despite years of suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-infected patients have higher levels of T-cell activation and inflammation than HIV-uninfected individuals, investigators examined whether these markers are associated with functional impairment in HIV-infected patients.

Of 359 HIV-infected individuals aged 45 to 65 who were on suppressive ART for at least 6 months and completed functional testing, 140 (39%) were identified as having high function (i.e., the ability to complete a 400-meter walk and no deficits on a frailty phenotype score or on a physical per…