Motor function, muscle strength and health-related quality of life of children perinatally infected with HIV.
Cassandra V Rego, Joanne L Potterton
PMID 36483134WHAT IT FOUND
In 30 ambulatory children with perinatally acquired HIV, 36.7% were delayed and 23.3% were at high risk of motor delay on a standard motor test.
Manual dexterity was worst, with sixty percent at risk or delayed. Girls had lower jump distance than boys.
Key findings
01On the Movement Assessment Battery for Children second edition, 36.7% of participants were in the red zone for definite motor delay, 23.3% were in the amber zone for high risk, and only 40% were in the green zone for typical performance.
02Manual dexterity was the weakest component, and sixty percent of participants were at high risk of delay or already delayed in it.
03The mean standing broad jump distance was 99 cm. Boys averaged 107.64 cm and girls averaged 87.70 cm, a significant difference with p = 0.02.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 30 children were assessed, all from one urban public HIV clinic, so the results may not apply to other settings or to children who are not ambulatory or not on antiretroviral therapy. The study was cross-sectional and had no HIV-uninfected or unexposed comparison group, so it cannot show that HIV caused the motor or strength findings. Data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected sample size, socio-economic circumstances and medication adherence. The MABC-2 has no South African norms, so motor zone scores may not be fully calibrated to this population. Viral suppression was incomplete, with only 11 participants having undetectable viral loads, and adherence was not recorded, so clinical factors may explain part of the results.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these findings as proof that HIV directly causes motor delay or that a therapy improves function. This was a small cross-sectional study of 30 ambulatory children on antiretroviral therapy, with no uninfected comparison group, and only 11 participants had undetectable viral loads.