Albuminuria (urinary excretion of more than 30 milligram of albumin per gram of creatinine) serves as an indicator of microvascular injury, which has been associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in HIV-seronegative individuals. Albuminuria has been reported to be prevalent among HIV-seropositive individuals, however, the relationship between albuminuria and risk for cardiovascular disease in this population has not been well-studied. We examined the relationships between albuminuria and parameters of atherosclerosis including carotid intima-media thickness and traditional cardiovascular risk assessment among HIV-seropositive individuals receiving stable antiretroviral therapy. We utilized a cross-sectional baseline data from the Hawai'i Aging with HIV-Cardiovascular Study cohort.
Results: Data was available on 111 HIV-infected patients (median age of 52 (Q1,Q3: 46, 57), male 86%; diabetes 6%; hypertension 33%; dyslipidemia 50%; median CD4 count of 489 cells/mm(3) (341, 638); HIV RNA PCR < 48 copies/ml of 85%). Eighteen subjects (16.2%) had microalbuminuria, and two subjects (1.8%) had macroalbuminuria. Albuminuria was significantly associated with increased Framingham Risk Score (P=.002), insulin resistance by HOMA-IR (P=.02), diastolic blood pressure (P=.01), and carotid intima-media thickness (P =.04). The correlation between the amount of albuminuria and carotid intima-media thickness remained significant even after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, current smoking status, diabetes mellitus, diastolic blood pressure, fasting insulin level, CD4 count, and HIV-RNA viral load.
Conclusion: Albuminuria is prevalent among HIV-infected patients receiving stable antiretroviral therapy. It is significantly related to previously defined markers of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome among HIV-infected patients receiving stable antiretroviral therapy.
Keywords: CD4 count; HIV; HIV viral load; aging; albuminuria; atherosclerosis; cardiovascular disease.