EMERGING REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES PERTURBATIONS IN HIV POSITIVE FEMALES: A NORTH INDIAN STUDY.

Introduction:- Reproductive hormones Testosterone, Estrogen and Progesterone forms the foundation of fertility and pregnancy issues as well as menstrual abnormalities, early menopause, lower genital tract neoplasia, sexually transmitted infections, cardiovascular complications in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) seropositive females. So measuring their levels can benefit management of HIV patients in long term. Design:- Cross sectional and observational study. Aims And Objectives: To estimate levels of serum testosterone, estrogen and progesterone in HIV positive, Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy naïve females and age matched controls. To correlate these hormone levels with CD4+ cell counts of cases. Materials And Method: Forty seven HIV seropositive HAART naïve females were taken along with forty seven age matched controls. Cases were segregated on the basis of CD4+ cell counts (A-CD4+ <200, B-CD4+ 200-350 and C-CD4+ >350 cells/mm3). Reproductive hormones were estimated in case and control group. Results were collected and any correlation with CD4+ cell counts was searched for. Results: Testosterone level was lower in cases than controls with significant decrease in group 2. Estrogen levels were decreased non-signi?cantly in cases. 66.7% females in Group A, 14.3% in Group B, 14.8% in Group C and 4.2% in controls had progesterone levels less than 0.21 ng/ml. Correlation was seen between Body Mass Index (BMI) and CD4, BMI and Estrogen, CD4 and Testosterone, CD4 and Estrogen. Conclusion: Reproductive hormones deficiency should be looked for and managed in HIV seropositive females for better management at earlier stage to avoid complications and decrease morbidity.