HIV Wasting:
Loss of Lean Body Mass (LBM)
and Fat Mass (FM)


• Fat and lean tissue are depleted significantly in HIV+ men with weight loss

• Composition of weight loss is influenced by initial body fat content

• Weight loss in patients with baseline fat of >15% was only 16% LBM

• Weight loss in patients with baseline fat of <15% was 70% LBM


Mulligan K et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1997;15:43-8.



• As we just saw from the Wanke data, patients with HIV-associated wasting lose both fat mass and fat-free mass. Do some patients have a preferential tendency to lose more of one type of tissue or the other?

• Mulligan and colleagues attempted to answer this question by conducting a cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of body composition in men with HIV infection.1 Weight and body composition in 32 men were determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis.

• They found that the composition of weight loss was influenced by the individual’s initial body fat content. Those men who had more than 15% fat at baseline only had a 16% loss of lean body mass.

• However, the men who had less than 15% fat at baseline had a 70% loss of lean body mass.

• Mulligan’s data support the conclusion that progressive decreases of fat and lean tissue occur in patients with HIV-associated wasting. The amount lost in each category is determined by baseline fat content.

Reference:

1. Mulligan K, Tai VW, Schambelan M. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of body composition in men with HIV infection. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1997;15:43-8.