Height at three years of Highly active antiretroviral has a strong correlation with height at diagnosis in children with HIV infection

Background Study shown that stunting in children with human immunodeficiency virus might persisted until age 18 years, despite the course of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Aims To compare stunting proportion at diagnosis and at three years after HAART in children with HIV infection aged below five years. Methods. The study was done in Sanglah Hospital, Bali - Indonesia. Inclusion criteria: HIV infection, started HAART in 2009 to 2015, age 1 month to 5 years, had no major congenital anomaly, and parents consented. The cohort were divided into groups of children aged <2 years and >2 years, then followed for 3 years. Chi square analysis was used to test a difference between groups at diagnosis and three years after HAART. Mc Nemar test was used to analyze the difference within children group between two times measurement. Results From 146 eligible children, 77 completed three years of observation (37 in the <2 years and 40 in the > 2 years group). No difference of stunting proportion was found between the two age groups at diagnosis (59.45% vs 72.50%, P=0.229, 95%CI -7.85% to 32.67% ), but significant difference found at 3 years (32.43% vs 65.00%; P=0.045, 95%CI 10.22% to 50.71%). In age < 2 years group, stunting reduced significantly at 3 years (difference -27.02%; P=0.0063; 95% CI - 43.18 to -10.87), but not in children age > 2 years (difference -7,50%; P=0.5078; 95%CI -22.02 to 7.02). Conclusion: In children ages two to five years, stunting proportion remains unchanged after three years of HAART. Keywords: Stunting, Children, HIV, HAART