International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health | 2016 | Vol 5 | Issue 05 (Online First) 1 Access this article online Website: http://www.ijmsph.com Quick Response Code: DOI: 10.5455/ijmsph.2016.03092015151 Research Article A study of the effects of HIV infection and ART treatment on the serum lipid proile of HIV/AIDS patients attending the Nylon District Hospital, Douala, Cameroon Walter E Ojong 1 , Eric A Achidi 2 , Tobias O Apinjoh 3 , Henri-Lucien F Kamga 4 , Anna L Njunda 5 1 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria. 2 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Buea, Cameroon & Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Cameroon. 3 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Buea, Cameroon. 4 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Bamenda, Cameroon. 5 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Buea, Cameroon. Correspondence to: Walter E Ojong, E-mail: ebotwally@yahoo.com Received September 3, 2015. Accepted November 5, 2015 Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been shown to substantially reduce morbidity and mortality in human immunodeiciency virus (HIV) seropositive patients. However, long-term management of patients on ART may affect their lipid metabolism and predispose them to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Objective: This study was aimed at investigating the effects of HIV infection and ART treatment on the serum lipid proile of HIV/AIDS patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on an equal number of HIV positive ART-naïve patients, ART-initiated patients, and apparently healthy HIV negative control subjects (n = 100). Serum lipid parameters were determined using colorimetric techniques. Independent sample t-test statistical analyses were carried out on the laboratory results using SPSS.20. p-Value <0.05 was considered as statistically signiicant. Result: The mean (standard error of the mean [SEM]) duration of treatment with ART was 20.77 ± 11.5 months. The mean serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) of ART-naïve patients was signiicantly lower than the control group (p = 0.001). Similarly, the mean serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of patients on ART were signiicantly higher (p = 0.001), whereas HDL-C was signiicantly lower compared with the control subjects (p = 0.021). The mean serum TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C of the ART-initiated group were signiicantly higher compared with the ART-naïve group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Infection with HIV is characterized by a decrease in the serum HDL-C levels. Furthermore, the treatment with ART signiicantly increases plasma concentration of TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C. HIV patients on ART in Cameroon should therefore be closely monitored for alterations in their lipid proile levels. KEY WORDS: Antiretroviral therapy, human immunodeiciency virus, dyslipidemia, Cameroon Abstract International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health Online 2016. © 2016 Walter E Ojong. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. Introduction Human immunodeiciency virus (HIV) infection is a major public health problem worldwide, affecting 35 million people, among whom 24.5 million are in Africa [1] and 68% of these HIV-infected individuals live in sub-Saharan Africa. [1] The prevalence of HIV infection in Cameroon is estimated at 5.3% [2] with individuals aged between 15 and 49 years being the most commonly infected. [2] Introduced in 1996, highly active