(P17-009-23) Perinatal HIV Infection and Exposure Is Associated With Saturated and Monounsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in 11-18-Year-Old Ugandan Adolescents

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine if baseline fatty acid levels differ by HIV status by performing a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of 11-18-year-old Ugandan adolescents. We hypothesize that long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) levels will be lower in HIV-affected children because HIV exposure/infection may cause intestinal dysbiosis and affect fat absorption.

Methods: Perinatal HIV status was defined at enrollment for 383 Ugandan adolescents (aged 11-18 years) as perinatally HIV infected (APHIV), HIV exposed uninfected (AHEU), and HIV unexposed uninfected (AHUU). Serum samples were collected at enrollment, and serum fatty acids were extracted and methylated to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). FAMEs underwent gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, and the fatty acids were quantified from resulting chromatograms using TargetLynx. Fatty acid levels are presented as percent (%) of total fatty acids. Total and HIV-stratified means and standard errors of the mean (SEMs) were calculated for individual and calculated fatty acid measures using R. HIV-stratified means for each measure were compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD tests (statistical significance defined as p< 0.05) using R.

Results: 126 APHIV, 133 AHEU, and 124 AHUU were included in this analysis. The mean age was 13.84 years (SD: 2.41), and APHIV were significantly older than AHEU and AHUU (p=0.01). Both APHIV and AHEU had lower palmitic, lignoceric, and total saturated fatty acid (SFA) levels than AHUU (all p< 0.05). APHIV had higher oleic, eicosenoic, and total monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) levels than both AHEU and AHUU (all p< 0.05). APHIV had higher levels of some omega-6 (n-6) PUFA levels and lower levels of omega-3 EPA (all p≤0.002).

Conclusions: HIV-affected adolescents had lower SFA levels than their AHUU peers, while MUFA levels appeared to increase with perinatal HIV status severity. These results, in addition to lower n-6 PUFA levels in APHIV, suggest that Ugandan adolescents perinatally infected with HIV may have a healthier fatty acid profile than their uninfected counterparts.

Funding Sources: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health