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Research presented at EUROECHO and
Other Imaging Modalities 2012 (the annual meeting of the European Association
of Cardiovascular Imaging in Athens, Greece, December 5-8) indicated that
children with HIV have a 2.5-fold increased risk of atherosclerosis. According to
Dr. Talia Sainz Costa, a pediatrician and principal investigator of the study,
many antiretroviral drugs increase bad (LDL) cholesterol and lower good (HDL)
cholesterol, so that children with HIV have high cholesterol for a long period
of time. Also, the virus causes chronic inflammation. Both of these conditions
are bad for the arteries.
The study investigated whether
children and adolescents have early atherosclerosis damage. Researchers used
echocardiography to measure carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)—a marker of
atherosclerosis—in 150 children and adolescents with HIV and 150 age- and
sex-matched health controls. During testing, researchers found that 17 percent
of the participants with HIV were smokers, compared to 11 percent of the
control group. After adjustment for age, sex, basic metabolic index, and
smoking status, HIV was independently associated with thicker IMT (P=0.005).
Thus, children and adolescents had a 2.5-fold increased risk of higher IMT due
to HIV. Dr. Sainz Costa commented that the study showed that in children and
adolescents with HIV, the arteries are more rigid and less elastic. This is an
indication that the process of atherosclerosis has begun and that these
individuals face increased risk of an infarction in the future. The researchers
also found that frequencies of activated T CD4+ cells were higher in
HIV-infected subjects, showing that the immune system is more active.
The researchers concluded that
clinicians need to take cardiovascular prevention more seriously in children
and adolescents with HIV, while continuing to treat the HIV infection. Dr.
Sainz Costa added that physicians also need to be stricter about healthy
lifestyle advice. She noted that HIV research is investigating ways to control
the inflammation and immune activation and advised clinicians to focus on
ensuring that patients take the antiretroviral treatment, take lipid lowering
drugs when necessary, and adopt healthier lifestyles.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
