Paradoxical contractile properties in the knee extensors of HIV-infected men treated with antiretroviral therapy

Mobility Deviations in Adults With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Cross-Sectional Assessment Using Gait Analysis, Functional Performance, and Self-Report

Background

Little is known about how human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects walking biomechanics, or about associations between HIV-related gait deviations, functional performance, and self-reported outcomes. This paper reports on (1) gait biomechanics and variability in people with HIV (PWH) and (2) associations with clinical tests, self-reported function, and falls.

Methods

A cross-sectional study tested consecutively sampled PWH (n = 50) and HIV-seronegative participants ([SNP] n = 50). Participants underwent 3-dimensional gait analysis, performed clinical tests (short walk and single leg stance tests with and without dual tasking, chair-rise tests, and a physical performance battery), and completed questionnaires about function and falls. Between-group comparisons were done using analysis of covariance. Linear correlations between gait variability, clinical tests, and patient-reported outcomes were established.

Results

People with HIV and SNP had comparable median ages (PWH = 36.6, interquartile range [IQR] = 32.0–45.6]; SNP = 31.1, IQR = 23.2–45.1). Compared with SNP, PWH walked slower (adjusted mean difference [MD] = −0.2 meters per second [m/s], 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.3 to −0.1) with greater variability (adjusted MD = 14.7 variability score points, 95% CI = 9.9–19.5). Moreover, PWH were slower in five-times sit-to-stand (5STS) performance (adjusted MD = 1.9 seconds, 95% CI = 1.00–2.9). Significant deviations in hip kinematics (increased flexion; adjusted MDs = 2.4°–2.8°, P = .012–.016) and knee kinematics (reduced flexion; adjusted MDs = 2.3°–3.7°, P = .007–.027) were found in PWH during dual-task (DT) walking. The PWH’s 5STS moderately correlated with larger gait variability (usual pace r = −0.5; dual task r = −0.6), poorer self-reported mobility (r = 0.4) and self-care function (r = 0.5), and fear of falling (P = .003).

Conclusions

People with HIV presented with biomechanical deviations suggestive of a slowed and variable gait, especially under cognitive challenges. Five-times STS may be useful to screen for gait deviations in PWH.

Objective impairments of gait and balance in adults living with HIV-1 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND

Gait and balance deficits are reported in adults with HIV infection and are associated with reduced quality of life. Current research suggests an increased fall-incidence in this population, with fall rates among middle-aged adults with HIV approximating that in seronegative elderly populations. Gait and postural balance rely on a complex interaction of the motor system, sensory control, and cognitive function. However, due to disease progression and complications related to ongoing inflammation, these systems may be compromised in people with HIV. Consequently, locomotor impairments may result that can contribute to higher-than-expected fall rates. The aim of this review was to synthesize the evidence regarding objective gait and balance impairments in adults with HIV, and to emphasize those which could contribute to increased fall risk.

METHODS

This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic search of published observational studies was conducted in March 2016. Methodological quality was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Narrative synthesis of gait and balance outcomes was performed, and meta-analyses where possible.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were included, with fair to low methodological quality. All studies used clinical tests for gait-assessment. Gait outcomes assessed were speed, initiation-time and cadence. No studies assessed kinetics or kinematics. Balance was assessed using both instrumented and clinical tests. Outcomes were mainly related to center of pressure, postural reflex latencies, and timed clinical tests. There is some agreement that adults with HIV walk slower and have increased center of pressure excursions and -long loop postural reflex latencies, particularly under challenging conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Gait and balance impairments exist in people with HIV, resembling fall-associated parameters in the elderly. Impairments are more pronounced during challenging conditions, might be associated with disease severity, are not influenced by antiretroviral therapy, and might not be associated with peripheral neuropathy. Results should be interpreted cautiously due to overall poor methodological quality and heterogeneity. Locomotor impairments in adults with HIV are currently insufficiently quantified. Future research involving more methodological uniformity is warranted to better understand such impairments and to inform clinical decision-making, including fall-prevention strategies, in this population.

Decline in locomotor functions over time in HIV-infected patients

OBJECTIVES

To assess changes in locomotor function in HIV-infected patients and to evaluate the determinants of variations in lower limb muscle performance.

DESIGN

Longitudinal study within the ANRS CO3 Aquitaine Cohort.

METHODS

Standardized locomotor tests, including global functional capacity [6-min walk distance (6MWD)] and lower limb muscle performance tests [five times sit-to-stand (5STS) test], were performed in HIV-infected adults at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Evolution of performances and determinants of 5STS time were studied in linear mixed-effects models.

RESULTS

At baseline (354 patients, 90% on antiretroviral treatment), median 5STS time was 9.8 s and 6MWD 549 m. Poorer performances were associated with falls, reported by 12% of 178 patients at follow-up. Estimated mean deterioration was +0.24 s/year (P < 10) for 5STS time and -11 m/year (P < 10) for 6MWD. In multivariable analyses, older age was associated with worse baseline 5STS time (+0.47 s/10-year age increase; P = 10), but not with further deterioration. Deterioration was greater in prior injecting drug users compared to others (difference in slope +0.62 s/year; P = 0.04). 5STS time at any time point was worse in patients with history of cerebral AIDS conditions (+2.47 s; P < 10) and diabetes (+0.95 s; P = 0.02) than in others. No significant associations were found for antiretroviral treatment type, viral load or CD4 cell count.

CONCLUSION

Compared to published data from healthy persons of similar age, baseline 5STS time and 6MWD were poorer in HIV-infected adults and associated with subsequent falls. Test performances deteriorated further over time. Age, diabetes, neurologic complications and injection drug use, rather than virologic factors, contribute to variations in lower limb muscle performance.