Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) in People Living With HIV Attending Centre of Excellence in HIV Care at a Tertiary Level Teaching Hospital in North India-A Pilot Study

With the availability of free antiretroviral therapy (ART) across India, HIV in adults has become a chronic disease with prolonged survival. The emergence of various non-communicable diseases in these prolonged survivors is a cause of concern. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in adults with HIV infection in India has not been explored to date. In this study, we attempted to assess the existence of MASLD in thirty adults registered at the Centre of Excellence in ART Care at a tertiary teaching hospital in New Delhi. This center provides free first-line, second-line, and third-line ART to patients as well as comprehensive HIV care including counseling, nutritional advice, and inpatient admissions for intercurrent illnesses. A total of 30 subjects were enrolled in the study to assess the occurrence of MASLD among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and its risk factors and to assess hepatic fibrosis in the subjects with MASLD using transient elastography and clinical fibrosis scores. The study population included 13 subjects on ART (43.3%) and 17 ART-naïve subjects (56.6%). All the study subjects underwent ultrasonography (USG) for the identification of the development of MASLD in them. Steatosis was identified as an increase in the echogenicity of the liver seen as an increase in the hepatorenal contrast and was further graded into the 3 grades of fatty liver. Out of the 30 subjects, 16.6% (5 out of 30) were found to have MASLD on USG, with grade 1 fatty changes seen in 4 (13.3%) and grade 2 fatty changes seen in 1 out of 30 subjects (3.3%). A majority (40%) of the subjects were underweight (body mass index [BMI]