Résumé
Objective: To describe lipid levels in antiretroviral (ARV)-naive HIV-infected Ivorian children and assess their evolution after ARV-treatment initiation. Methods: Lipid concentrations were assessed at baseline and at least 6 months later in 93 children. Fifty-six children initiated ARV treatment at baseline, and 37 remained untreated. Results: At baseline, 65, 92 and 84% of the children had low levels of total cholesterol, HDL and APOA1, respectively, whereas 75 and 70% had triglycerides and APOB levels in the normal range. At baseline, low level of HDL cholesterol and high level of triglycerides were associated with high viral load and low levels of CD4 cell count. Levels of total, HDL cholesterol and APOA1 increased over time, and treatment was associated with a higher increase whereas levels of triglycerides and APOB decreased in treated children and remained stable in untreated group. Conclusions: The initiation of antiretroviral treatment was associated with a normalization of the infection-related lipid profile.