Socioeconomic status largely explains integrase inhibitors-related body composition differences in chronically infected men living with HIV

Background: Substantial body composition alterations have been reported after starting combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). We characterized a cohort of chronically infected and virologically suppressed (VL < 50 copies/ml) men (≥50 years old) living with HIV (MLWH) who were switched to integrase inhibitors (INSTI), and compared their body composition parameters and proinflammatory/endocrine profiles to age-matched MLWH on integrase inhibitor free (non-INSTI) regimens, taking into account neighborhood-level measures of socioeconomic status (SES). In addition, we used previously published HIV-seronegative men of the same age as controls. Methods: We used dual energy X-ray absorptiometry to quantify body composition parameters, and measured plasma proinflammatory/endocrine markers in 56 MLWH. We compared body composition to a publicly available dataset of 450 HIV-seronegative men of similar age. Within the MLWH group, body composition and plasma proinflammatory/endocrine markers were compared between individuals on INSTI and non-INSTI regimens, accounting for SES. Results: Men living with HIV tended to have a greater android/gynoid ratio compared to HIV-seronegative men (p < 0.001). INSTI usage in MLWH was associated with lower adiposity measures when compared to non-INSTI, although these differences largely disappeared after controlling for SES. Proinflammatory/endocrine markers were similar for INSTI and non-INSTI MLWH. Conclusions: Among cART-experienced MLWH, those receiving INSTI-containing regimens had modestly lower adiposity compared to non-INSTI MLWH, although these differences were explained by SES. Future studies examining the relationship between INSTI use and body composition should consider the impact of SES.