Incident hyperglycaemia among older adults with or at-risk for HIV infection

HIV infection has been associated with development of prediabetes and diabetes. Optimum screening practices for these disorders in HIV-infected populations remain unclear

Association of HIV viral load with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and atherosclerosis burden measured by magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND: HIV-infected individuals may be at increased risk for atherosclerosis. Although this is partially attributable to metabolic factors, HIV-associated inflammation may play a role. OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations of HIV disease with serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1/chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (MCP-1/CCL2) levels and atherosclerosis burden. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis. METHODS: : Serum MCP-1/CCL2, fasting lipids, and glucose tolerance were measured in 98 HIV-infected and 79 demographically similar uninfected adults. Eighty-four participants had MRI of the carotid arteries and thoracic aorta to measure atherosclerosis burden. Multivariate analyses were performed using linear regression. RESULTS: Mean MCP-1/CCL2 levels did not differ between HIV-infected and uninfected participants (P = 0.65). Among HIV-infected participants, after adjusting for age, BMI, and cigarette smoking, HIV-1 viral load was positively associated with MCP-1/CCL2 (P = 0.02). Multivariate analyses adjusting for sex, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol:high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, cigarette smoking, MCP-1/CCL2, and protease inhibitor use found that HIV infection was associated with greater mean thoracic aorta vessel wall area (VWA, P < 0.01) and vessel wall thickness (VWT, P = 0.03), but not with carotid artery parameters. Compared with being uninfected, having detectable HIV-1 viremia was associated with greater mean thoracic aorta VWA (P < 0.01) and VWT (P = 0.03), whereas being HIV-infected with undetectable viral load was associated with greater thoracic aorta VWA (P = 0.02) but not VWT (P = 0.15). There was an independent positive association of MCP-1/CCL2 with thoracic aorta VWA (P = 0.01) and VWT (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: HIV-1 viral burden is associated with higher serum levels of MCP-1/CCL2 and with atherosclerosis burden, as assessed by thoracic aorta VWA and VWT

Racial differences in bone loss and relation to menopause among HIV-infected and uninfected women.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize changes in bone mineral density (BMD) according to race among HIV-infected and uninfected women, and to evaluate the relationship between race and menopause-related bone loss. METHODS: Dual X-ray absorptiometry measured BMD on study entry and a minimum of 18 months later in 246 HIV-infected and 219 HIV-uninfected women in the Menopause Study. Linear regression analyses determined percent annual BMD change at the total hip (TH), femoral neck (FN), and lumbar spine (LS) after adjusting for potential confounders. Race-stratified and HIV-infected subgroup analyses were performed. RESULTS: At baseline, mean age was 45 years, 19% of women were postmenopausal. HIV-infected women were more likely to be black (58% vs. 38%), and had lower BMI and less cigarette exposure when compared to HIV-uninfected women. Women who were perimenopausal at baseline and postmenopausal at follow-up had the greatest TH bone loss (-1.68%/yr, p \u3c .0001) followed by those postmenopausal throughout (-1.02%/yr, p = .007). We found a significant interaction between HIV status and race in multivariate analyses of BMD change at the FN and TH. In race-stratified analyses, HIV infection was associated with TH BMD loss in non-black women. Black women experienced greater menopause-associated decline in TH BMD compared with non-black women. CONCLUSIONS: The association of HIV and BMD differs strikingly by race, as do the effects of the menopausal transition on bone. Determining the extent to which the effect of HIV on fracture risk varies by race will be crucial to identify HIV-infected women at greatest risk for osteoporotic fracture, particularly as they enter menopause

Crack cocaine use and other risk factors for tuberculin positivity in drug users

Two-step tuberculin testing and standardized interviews of 793 current and former drug users were performed to determine the risk factors for tuberculin positivity. The prevalence of tuberculin positivity was 25%. Factors independently associated with tuberculin positivity among participants seronegative for human immunode-ficiency virus (HIV) included crack cocaine use (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.6; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.0–2.5), employment as a home health aide (adjusted OR, 2.1; 95 % CI, 1.0–4.1), birth in Puerto Rico (adjuste

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Inner-City Persons with or at Risk for HIV Infection

Previous studies have shown that use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is prevalent among HIV-infected persons, but have focused primarily on men who have sex with men. To determine factors associated with CAM use in an inner city population, individuals (n = 93) recruited from two established cohort studies were interviewed between October and November 2004. The interview assessed the use of dietary supplements and other CAM therapies, reasons for CAM use, and use of prescription medications. Study participants were 52% male and 47% HIV infected. Median age was 50 years, and 60% reported illicit drug use ever. CAM use during the prior 6 months was reported by 94%, with 48% reporting daily use of a dietary supplement. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and soy were used more often by HIV-infected than uninfected persons (p < 0.05). Prevention of illness was the most common reason for dietary supplement use (27%). HIV-infected persons were more likely than uninfected persons (95% versus 67%) to report use of both dietary supplements and prescription medications within the past 6 months (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, HIV infection (odds ratio [OR] 3.1, CI 1.3, 7.7) was the only factor associated with daily dietary supplement use whereas gender, race/ethnicity, working in the last year, homelessness, and financial comfort were not associated. CAM use among persons with or at risk for HIV infection due to drug use or high-risk heterosexual behaviors is common, and is used almost exclusively as an adjunct and not an alternative to conventional health care