Growth and Neurodevelopmental Status in HIV Infected Children

Abstract

Background: HIV infected children are at risk of growth and developmental disorders. Objectives: We assessed growth and neurodevelopment outcomes in 0 - 5 years old HIV infected children. Methods: A cohort study was carried out in a referral HIV clinic. Twenty eight HIV infected children and 47 healthy children aged 0 - 5 years were compared with regard to growth and neurodevelopmental status within two consecutive 6 months. During this period, some parent based interventions were achieved and antiretroviral treatment was optimized in case of necessity. Results: Among the growth parameters measured, the only significant difference between case and control groups at the beginning of the study was the head circumference percentile (P = 007) and for the developmental variables, abnormality in speech and language ability were more common in case group than in control group (P = 0.04). The difference between controlled and uncontrolled HIV patients at enrollment was marginally significant in gross motor function (P = 0.059) and a significant difference was seen in social ability (P = 0.01). The score changes among parameters before and after intervention between case and control groups were significant in language ability (P = 0.01), fine motor (P = 0.001) and social ability (P = 0.02). The score changes among parameters before and after intervention were also significant in head circumference percentile (P = 0.02) between the two groups, and for weight percentile (P = 0.04) and length percentile (P = 0.04) between well and poorly HIV controlled patients. Conclusions: The growth and developmental disorders could be preventable with antiretroviral treatment and some simple parent based interventions.