HIV Infection Affects Cardiometabolic Risk

HIV infection is associated with a higher cardiometabolic disease risk, including obesity and hypertriglyceridemia, according to results of new research.

The researchers came to this conclusion after examining data from 1099 participants in the Copenhagen Co-morbidity in HIV Infection Study and 12,161 age- and sex-matched uninfected controls from the Copenhagen General Population Study.

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All participants were adults living with HIV infection who underwent blood pressure, waist, hip, weight, and height measurements and who contributed nonfasting blood samples for analysis.

Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between HIV and abdominal obesity, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and hypertension. Results were adjusted according to known risk factors.

Results showed that participants living with HIV infection had a higher risk for abdominal obesity for a given body mass index, elevated LDL-C, and hypertriglyceridemia. However, participants living with HIV infection had a lower risk for hypertension.

Older age was associated with excess odds of abdominal obesity in HIV-infected participants.

“Abdominal obesity was associated with proaterogenic metabolic factors including elevated LDL-C, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia and remains a distinct HIV-related phenotype, particularly among older [people living with human immunodeficiency virus],” the researchers concluded. “Effective interventions to reduce the apparent detrimental impact on cardiovascular risk from this phenotype are needed.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Gelpi M, Afzal S, Lundgren J, et al. Higher risk of abdominal obesity, elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hypertriglyceridemia, but not of hypertension, in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): results from the Copenhagen Comorbidity in HIV Infection Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2018;67(4):579-586. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy146.