Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence and Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in HIV-Positive Men with and without Antiretroviral Therapy

• Published in: Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Lithuania), 2021-06, Vol.57 (6), p.578
• Main Authors: Lu, Win-Long, Lee, Yuan-Ti, Sheu, Gwo-Tarng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Age; AIDS; Antiretroviral drugs; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Cardiovascular disease; Diabetes; Drug therapy; Education; Framingham risk score; HAART; HIV; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Infections; Laboratories; Metabolic syndrome; Patients; Population; Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1648-9144; 1010-660X; 1648-9144
• DOI: 10.3390/medicina57060578

Treatment of HIV infection is a lifelong process and associated with chronic diseases. We evaluated the prevalence and predictors of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) with individual antiretroviral drugs exposure among HIV-infected men in Taiwan. A total of 200 patients’ data were collected with a mean age of 32.9. Among them, those who had CD4 positive cell number less than 350/mL were eligible to have highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Patients were divided into group-1 that contains 45 treatment-naïve participants, and group-2 that includes 155 HAART treatment-experienced participants. MetS prevalence between group-1 and group-2 was 18% and 31%, respectively. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) for the naïve and experienced groups were 4.7 ± 4.2 and 3.87 ± 5.92, respectively. High triglyceride (TG > 150 mg/dL) in group-1 and group-2 were 15.6% and 36.6% (p < 0.05), whereas, lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL < 39 mg/dL) in group-1 and group-2 presented as 76.7% versus 51% (p < 0.05), respectively. In group-2, treatment with protease inhibitors (PIs) resulted in higher TG levels when compared with non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and integrase inhibitors (InSTIs). The prevalence of MetS in the treatment-naïve group was lower than that of the treatment-experienced group; high TG level resulted in higher MetS prevalence in the treatment-experienced group. In contrast, the cardiovascular risk of FRS in the treatment-naïve group was higher than that of the treatment-experienced group, which may result from the low HDL level. Although group-1 participants have a higher risk of developing CVDs, in group-2, an increasing TG level in PIs user indicated higher CVDs risk. TG and HDL are two significant biofactors that required regular evaluation in HIV-positive individuals.