Does PrEP cause changes in the distribution of body fat (lipodystrophy)?

No, PrEP does not cause redistribution of body fat and is not associated with lipodystrophy.

At one time, the Truvada label included a warning about these side effects*. It is now known that Truvada is not associated with these side effects. As of April 2017, the warning has been removed from the FDA-approved label in the United States. The warning has also been removed from the EMA-approved label in Europe.

* Originally, this warning was included for Truvada as a "class warning." Some other drugs in the same class as Truvada (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs) were known to cause these side effects, specifically Zerit (stavudine) and Retrovir (zidovudine).

Additional Reading

Revised 28 May 2017 — Give feedback on this page