Increased vascular age may be linked to CD4 count among patients with HIV

Increased coronary age may be associated with increased CD4 cell counts and decreased life span in patients with HIV, according to results of a recent study.

There were 400 patients with HIV involved in the study. The participants were attending a cardiometabolic clinic and underwent cardiac computed tomography imaging to identify coronary artery calcium. The researchers estimated vascular age based on the extent of the presence of coronary artery calcium.

The average age of participants was 48. The researchers observed increased vascular age in 40.5% of this population. The average observed increase was 15 years (range, 1-43 years) over chronological age.

Univariate analysis indicated that the following factors were associated with increased vascular age:

chronological age
male sex
systolic blood pressure
duration of ART
fasting glucose level
fasting serum triglyceride level
total cholesterol level
low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels
hypertension
the presence of the metabolic syndrome

Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the only predictor of increased vascular age was current CD4 cell count (β=.51, P=.005). Predictions in the data indicated that patients may lose one year of life for each increase of 100 CD4 cells/mcL.

Guaraldi G et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2009;49:1756-1762.