HIV can Mess Your Biological Clock

HIV can cause a significant disturbance to the circadian rhythm of the body with lines consistent with the symptoms of jet lag, as per new findings reported by researchers from universities in South Africa and the UK. The findings were published in the Journal of Pineal Research that explains health difficulties experienced by people with HIV, and directs the research towards improving their quality of life.

Researchers from Northumbria and Surrey universities in the UK and South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand and University of Cape Town studied people aged 45 years and above living in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, where it was found that one in four people are living with HIV.

They found that circadian rhythms, measured by the hormone melatonin, was delayed by more than an hour on average in HIV positive participants. They also had sleep cycle that was also shorter as their sleep started later and finished earlier.

This suggests that HIV infection can cause a circadian rhythm disorder similar to jet lag.

How can Disturbance in Circadian Rhythm Affect Patients with HIV?

The authors believe that this disruption can significantly increase the burden of health problems that comes with HIV. This can also increase the risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychiatric disorders.

South Africa has the fourth highest rate of HIV prevalence in the world “The participants living with HIV essentially experience the one-hour disruption associated with switching to daylight savings time, but every single morning,” says Professor Malcolm von Schantz, Professor of Chronobiology at Northumbria University, corresponding author of the publication.

“This happens in spite of the fact that essentially everybody is exposed to the same light-dark cycle. Our findings have important potential implications for the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV, especially given the well-established relationships between disrupted circadian rhythms and sleep deprivation.”

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Dr. Karine Scheuermaier of the University of the Witwatersrand, senior author of the study added: “This is very similar to the risk profile observed in shift workers. Understanding and mitigating this disruption may be an important step towards helping people living with HIV live healthier lives.”

“Our findings identify an urgent research topic,” says Xavier Gómez-Olivé, also from the University of the Witwatersrand, whose research grant funded the study. “The next step must be to establish if the same body clock disruption exists in people living with HIV who are younger and who live in other countries.”

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Co-author Dale Rae, of the University of Cape Town, added “This is a great example of the importance of studying sleep in people living in Africa, and demonstrates how findings from this research can also be relevant to people anywhere in the world.”

Circadian rhythm also affects the immune responses as they can impact the regulation of virus replication and clinical management of these diseases.

Thus, further research is needed in this sector to improve the quality of life of HIV infected patients and also to ensure that existing treatment can work in a much efficient way.


Source-Medindia