Anti-HIV drugs decreased puberty delay risk in HIV-infected children

Antiretroviral drug regimens may protect against puberty delay in children with HIV, according to an NIH press release.

“More than 80% of the children in the study born after 1997 are on a combination regimen, so it was difficult to make a comparison between those who received the therapy and the comparatively small number who did not,” Paige Williams, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the release. “However, the trend in the data suggests that children taking modern drug regimens are likely to experience puberty close in time to that of their HIV-negative peers.”

The study included 12-year data from more than 2,000 boys and girls with HIV. Researchers found that each year of combination antiretroviral treatment received, puberty started a month earlier in those children compared with children with HIV who took other drug therapies or no drugs. HIV-positive boys developed pubic hair and larger genital about a year later compared with HIV-negative boys. HIV-positive girls developed breasts and pubic hair at about age 10.5 years compared with HIV-negative girls at age 9.5 to 10 years.

“As combination regimens for treating HIV have become more widespread, children’s growth has improved and their physical maturation is much closer to the norm,” Williams said. “Today’s recommended treatments for HIV appear to have a protective effect in these regards.”