Metabolic syndrome in human immunodeficiency virus-positive subjects: prevalence, phenotype, and related alterations in arterial structure and function.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection itself and highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) have been proposed to be associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, but, to date, prevalence and phenotype of metabolic syndrome among HIV subjects and the related structural and functional vascular alterations are not conclusively defined.

Methods: We analyzed the data of 108 HIV-infected subjects without known cardiovascular risk factors: 72 were on HAART (group A, age 46.5±7.