Potent antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection increases aortic stiffness.

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy for AIDS is known to increase cardiovascular risk, but the effects of potent antiretroviral agents according to gender are unknown.

Objective: The present study evaluated the impact of HIV infection treatment on aortic stiffness according to gender.

Methods: From university-affiliated hospitals, we recruited 28 AIDS patients undergoing highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), 28 treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients, 44 patients with type 2 diabetes, and 30 controls. Aortic stiffness was determined by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV) using a validated and non-invasive automatic device.

Results: The crude mean PWV values and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for HAART, diabetics, and controls were 9.77 m/s (95% CI 9.17-10.36), , 9.00 m/s (95% CI 8.37-9.63), 9.90 m/s (95% CI 9.32-10.49), and 9.28 m/s (95% CI 8.61-9.95), respectively, for men (P-value for trend = 0.14), and 9.61 m/s (95% CI 8.56-10.66), 8.45 m/s (95% CI 7.51-9.39), 9.83 (95% CI 9.21-10.44), and 7.79 m/s (95% CI 6.99-8.58), respectively, for women (P-value for trend <0.001). Post-hoc analysis revealed a significant difference between the mean PWV values in the HAART group and controls in women (P-value <0.01). After adjusting for other potential covariates, including systolic blood pressure and diabetes, these results did not change. The findings indicate that the impact of HAART treatment on aortic stiffness was amplified in women with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion: Potent anti-retroviral agents used in the treatment of HIV infection increases aortic stiffness, mainly among women with higher cardiovascular risk.