The present study assessed the lipid profile of HIV-infected patients attending the Government General Hospital, Kurnool during the period of 2009-2010. Fasting serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) were determined in sixty HIV-positive subjects and sixty age-matched HIV-negative controls. The CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts of the HIV-positive subjects were assessed and the HIV-positive subjects were grouped into three based on their CD4+ levels as follows: Group I (CD4+ count < 200 cells/µl); group II (CD4+ count 200- 499 cells/µl); group III (CD4+ count 500 cells/µl). The total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, TG and CD4+ T-lymphocyte for the HIV -positive subjects were 4.64±0.23 mmol/L, 2.02±0.17 mmol/L, 4.29±0.32 mmol/L,0.34±0.02 mmol/L, 0.84±0.05 mmol/L and 350.68±49.25 cells/µl, respectively while the TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-Cand TG of HIV-negative controls were 3.90±0.20 mmol/L, 2.67±1.07 mmol/L, 2.85± 1.09 mmol/L, 0.29±0.01 mmol/L and 0.71±0.03 mmol/L, respectively. A higher CD4+ count in the HIV- positive subjects was associated with higher HDL-C (p<0.05) while a lower CD4+ count was associated with higher TG and VLDL- C levels (p<0.05). Among the three groups classified based on the CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, higher (p<0.05) LDL-C, VLDL-C and TG with lower (p<0.05) HDL-C were observed among the HIV positive subjects having CD4+ T-lymphocytes counts of <200 cells/ µl compared to the HIV- control. No difference (p>0.05) in total cholesterol was found between group I and the control group. The results revealed that lipid profile monitoring is necessary for CD4+ T-lymphocyte count monitoring for the well being of HIV patients in this locality.
