Osteoporosis, rather than sarcopenia, is the predominant musculoskeletal disease in a rural South African community where HIV prevalence is high: a cross-sectional study: Osteoporosis, sarcopenia and HIV in South Africa

The rollout of antiretroviral therapy globally has increased life expectancy across Southern Africa, where 20.6 million people now live with HIV. We aimed to determine the prevalence of age-related osteoporosis and sarcopenia, and investigate the association between HIV, BMD, muscle strength and lean mass, and gait speed. A cross-sectional community-based study of individuals aged 20-80 years in rural South Africa collected demographic and clinical data, including HIV status, grip strength, gait speed, body composition and BMD. Sarcopenia was defined by European (EWGSOP2) guidelines, and osteoporosis as BMD T-Score≤-2.5 (if age ≥50 years). The mean [SD] age of 805 Black South African participants was 44.6 [14.8] years, 547 (68.2%) were female; 34 (13.2%) men and 129 (23.6%) women had HIV, with 88% overall taking anti-retroviral therapy. A femoral neck T-Score ≤-2.5, seen in 4/95 (4.2%) men and 39/201 (19.4%) women age ≥50, was more common in women with than without HIV [13/35 (37.1%) vs. 26/166 (15.7%); p=0.003]. While no participant had confirmed sarcopenia, probable sarcopenia affected more men than women [30/258 (11.6%) vs. 24/547 (4.4%); p=0.001]. Although appendicular lean mass (ALM)/height2 index was lower in both men and women with HIV, there were no differences in grip strength, gait speed, or probable sarcopenia by HIV status. Older age, female sex, lower ALM/height2 index, slower gait speed and HIV infection were all independently associated with lower femoral neck BMD. In conclusion, osteoporosis rather than sarcopenia is the common musculoskeletal disease of aging in rural South Africa; older women with HIV may experience greater bone losses than women without HIV. Findings raise concerns over future fracture risk in Southern Africa, where HIV clinics should consider routine bone health assessment, particularly in aging women.