Dyslipidemia in AIDS patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

ABSTRACT

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) reduces AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, however it has been associated with metabolic abnormalities. This study estimated the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and related factors among patients on HAART. A cross-sectional study was conducted on adult patients, in central Brazil. Patients were interviewed, and blood obtained for lipids measurement. Dyslipidemia was defined as total cholesterol (TC) > 240 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) > 160 mg/dL, triglycerides (TG) > 200 and/or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) < 40 mg/dL. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed (SPSS 13.0). One hundred and thirteen patients were recruited. Mean age was 39.3 years; 68.1 percent were males; 50.4 percent were on nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) in combination with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), while 42.5 percent were on NRTI in combination with protease inhibitors (PIs). The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 66.7 percent. Low HDL was the most frequent abnormality (53.5 percent), followed by high TG (36.1 percent). Patients on a PI regimen had a 5.2-fold higher risk (95 percent CI 1.8-14.8) of dyslipidemia, even after adjusting for sex, age, and duration of HIV infection/AIDS. The study discloses a high prevalence rate of dyslipidemia and points out a need for intervention programs to reduce future cardiovascular events in patients, on HAART.