The findings indicate that these patients should exercise, take vitamin D and be closely monitored in order to reduce their future risk of bone fractures, according to the study, released online in advance of print publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The study included about 250 male participants, aged 14 to 25, who underwent whole-body scans to measure their bone density. Some of the men were infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The participants with HIV had been diagnosed with the infection an average of two years earlier. The HIV-infected males had an average 5 percent to 8 percent lower bone density in the hip and 2 percent to 4 percent lower bone density in the spine than those without HIV.
Although the study uncovered an association between treatment for HIV infection and lower bone density in the study participants, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
The study, funded by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), did not look at the causes of bone loss and cannot rule out the possibility that low bone mass was present before HIV infection.
The investigators noted that all the participants had several risk factors for bone loss, including tobacco and alcohol use and low intake of calcium and vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium.
"The young
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