<![CDATA[Background Nutritional status in HIV patients is often associated with disease progression and the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Viral load is considered a key indicator of ART success, but its direct relationship with body mass index (BMI) is still inconsistent. Methods This study conducted at Fatmawati Central General Hospital, Jakarta, uses a cross-sectional design with combined analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to assess differences before and after ART, and Spearman's rho correlation test to assess the relationship between changes (Δ) in viral load levels (log10 copies/mL) and BMI (kg/m2) during ART in HIV/AIDS patients with a significance level of p < 0.05. Data were obtained from the medical records of HIV patients receiving ART, with analysis performed at two paired measurement periods categorized as pre-ART (during the initial 6 months of treatment) and post-ART (at the most recent follow-up). Results The number of subjects in this study is 113 HIV/AIDS patients with a median age of 33 years and the majority being male (75.2%). The median viral load significantly decreased from 3.95 before ART to 3.37 log10 copies/mL after antiretroviral therapy (p < 0.001), while the median body mass index increased from 21.51 to 22.22 kg/m² (p = 0.004). The Spearman correlation test showed no significant relationship between viral load levels and BMI before therapy (p = 0.146), after therapy (p = 0.942), or based on the change in values (Δ) during therapy (p = 0.402). Conclusions Antiretroviral therapy significantly reduces viral load levels and increases body mass index in HIV/AIDS patients. However, there is no significant relation between changes in viral load levels and changes in body mass index during antiretroviral therapy.]]>
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