Incidence and risk factors regarding atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and elderly people with HIV treated in Chongqing, China.

Background: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) has become an increasingly common cause of death among people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving successful antiretroviral therapy (ART). In Chongqing, approximately half of the PLHIV were middle-aged or elderly, and their diets were mainly high in salt, spices and oil; however, there is still a lack of relevant research on the risk factors and whether the disease burden of ASCVD is greater in these areas. This study was to investigate the risk of ASCVD in middle-aged and elderly PLHIV receiving ART and analyze the factors influencing high risk.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Chongqing Public Health Medical Center. Questionnaire surveys, physical examinations and laboratory examinations were used to collect information from PLHIV aged ≥ 45 years. Pooled cohort equations (PCEs) were used to calculate the 10-year ASCVD risk and analyze the influencing factors. The 10-year ASCVD risk score was used to define patients in the low-risk subgroup (< 7.5%) and high-risk subgroup (≥ 7.5%), and the risk factors were compared between the two groups.

Results: In total, 463 PLHIV (median age 55.0 years, male 68.5%) were included, and the median duration of ART was 45.0 (15.0, 70.3) months. Of the 463 PLHIV, 13 (2.8%) had a known history of ASCVD. In the present study, 153 PLHIV (33.0%) were classified into the high-risk group, and 310 PLHIV (67.0%) were classified into the low-risk group. Compared with the low-risk group, the high-risk group was more likely to be female, older age, live in urban areas, be unemployed, have poor sleep quality, have higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), have higher total cholesterol (TC), and have diabetes and hypertension; however, coffee consumption was associated with a low risk of ASCVD. In addition, there were no differences in HIV viral load, CD4 + T-cell count, or duration on ART, or ART regimes between the two groups. According to multiple logistic regression, older age [odds ratio (OR) = 62.469, 95% CI 27.456, 142.134], female sex [OR = 9.635, 95% CI 4.384, 21.179], higher LDL-c levels [OR = 1.018, 95% CI 1.000, 1.036], accompanied hypertension [OR = 8.642, 95% CI 3.373, 22.143] and diabetes [OR = 10.806, 95% CI 3.787, 30.834] were found to be independent risk factors for the 10-year risk of ASCVD.

Conclusions: The overall 10-year ASCVD risk is great for middle-aged and elderly PLHIV in Chongqing, China. The risk factors for the 10-year risk of ASCVD were older age, female sex, elevated LDL-c level, and coexisting hypertension and diabetes.