Differences between HIV-infected and uninfected adults in the contributions of smoking, diabetes and hypertension to acute coronary syndrome: two parallel case-control studies.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the separate contributions of smoking, diabetes and hypertension to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in HIV-infected adults relative to uninfected adults. METHODS: Two parallel case-control studies were carried out. In the first study, HIV-positive adults diagnosed with ACS between 1997 and 2009 (HIV+/ACS) were matched for age, gender and known duration of HIV infection with HIV-positive adults without ACS (HIV+/noACS), each individual in the HIV+/ACS group being matched with three individuals in the HIV+/noACS group. In the second study, each individual in the HIV+/ACS group in the first study was matched for age, gender and calendar date of ACS diagnosis with three HIV-negative individuals diagnosed with ACS between 1997 and 2009 (HIV-/ACS). Each individual in the HIV-/ACS group was then matched for age and gender with an HIV-negative adult without ACS (HIV-/noACS). After matching, the ratio of numbers of individuals in the HIV+/ACS, HIV+/noACS, HIV-/ACS and HIV-/noACS groups was therefore 1 : 3 : 3 : 3, respectively. We performed logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors for ACS in each case-control study and calculated population attributable risks (PARs) for smoking, diabetes and hypertension in HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals. RESULTS: There were 57 subjects in the HIV+/ACS group, 173 in the HIV+/noACS group, 168 in the HIV-/ACS group, and 171 in the HIV-/noACS group. Independent risk factors for ACS were smoking [odds ratio (OR) 4.091; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.086-8.438; P < 0.0001] and a family history of cardiovascular disease (OR 7.676; 95% CI 1.976-32.168; P = 0.0003) in HIV-positive subjects, and smoking (OR 4.310; 95% CI 2.425-7.853; P < 0.0001), diabetes (OR 5.778; 95% CI 2.393-15.422; P = 0.0002) and hypertension (OR 6.589; 95% CI 3.554-12.700; P < 0.0001) in HIV-negative subjects. PARs for smoking, diabetes and hypertension were 54.35 and 30.58, 6.57 and 17.24, and 9.07 and 38.81% in HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The contribution of smoking to ACS in HIV-positive adults was generally greater than the contributions of diabetes and hypertension, and was almost twice as high as that in HIV-negative adults. Development of effective smoking cessation strategies should be prioritized to prevent cardiovascular disease in HIV-positive adults.

The toxicogenetics of antiretroviral therapy: the evil inside.

The most important factor limiting the success of an antiretroviral therapy regimes is toxicity. Toxicity can depend on a number of factors; some of these are intrinsic to the host and may not only affect the latter's outward appearance, but also determine the intensity these toxic effects may reach. The former is exemplified by idiosyncratic or hypersensitivity reactions, whereas the latter is usually appreciated in metabolic disturbances or fat redistribution syndromes. Some of the determinants of antiretroviral toxicity are genetic in origin and have been the subject of intense study in recent years. Some of these are linked to a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), whereas others depend on a complex interaction between multiple genes variations. One of these tests (HLA B*5701) is now being applied in clinical practice and widely used to prevent the risk of hypersensitivity reactions to abacavir. Many other genetic determinants of antiretroviral drug toxicity have been suggested as an explanation for nucleoside analogue toxicity; these include lactic acidosis, peripheral neuropathy and pancreatitis, and have also been suggested as a potential basis for the non-nucleoside toxicity derived from immunogenetic factors involved in nevirapine hypersensitivity to SNPs in efavirenz enzyme metabolism, amongst other things. Metabolic toxicity, mainly due to protease inhibitors (PIs) is far more complex and depends on the interaction of various genes. The same seems to be true for fat redistribution syndromes and atherosclerosis, although a clear picture of the genetic factors operating in these syndromes is yet to emerge. The ultimate goal of pharmacogenetics is to customize antiretroviral therapy by identifying the genes that can maximize efficacy whilst helping avoid known side effects of antiretroviral drugs.