Role of Intestinal Dysfunction in the Nutritional Compromise Seen in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Adults in Rural India

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression is often marked by significant weight loss with or without chronic diarrhoea. We studied the extent of intestinal dysfunction using a D-xylose absorption test and association with nutritional compromise as measured by body mass index (BMI) and serum antioxidants levels in HIV-infected individuals through a cross-sectional survey of 45 ART naive, HIV-positive and 45, age-socioeconomic status matched negative controls in a rural population in India. More than 40% of HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants had intestinal dysfunction (42.2% vs. 44.4%). However an increasing gradient of low D-xylose absorption was noted with decreasing CD4 counts (32%, 50% and 58.3% among those with >350, 200-350 and <200 cells/mm(3), respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between intestinal dysfunction and low BMI (P=0.03) independent of HIV infection and calorie intake per day (P=0.02). Weight loss in HIV-infected individuals should be investigated for intestinal dysfunction especially in low resource settings.