ABC | Volume 114, Nº1, January 2019

Original Article Leite et al. Carotid thickness in HIV-infected patients Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; 114(1):90-97 Table 2 – Comparison of demographic and clinical, laboratory, mean carotid intima-media thickness, and age-related antiretroviral therapy characteristics of HIV-infected individuals Variables Age group p-value < 40 years old (n = 40) ≥ 40 years old (n = 59) Gender Female 14 (35.0%) 25 (42.4%) 0.461 Male 26 (65.0%) 34 (57.6%) Smoking Yes 3 (7.5%) 9 (15.2%) 0.246 No 37 (92.5%) 50 (84.8%) Diabetes Yes 1 (2.5%) 2 (3.4%) 0.800 No 39 (97.5%) 57 (96.6%) Lipidogram (mg/dL) Total cholesterol* 169.3 ± 33.1 193.9 ± 33.8 0.001 HDL* 45.6 ± 9.9 53.4 ± 15.8 0.007 LDL* 97.5 ± 23.4 110.9 ± 28.5 0.002 Triglycerides † 130.5 (76; 199) 111.4 (81; 174) 0.571 CIMT (mm)* CIMT mean 0.521 ± 0.070 0.609 ± 0.138 < 0.001 Inflammatory markers † PCR US 0.2 (0; 0.4) 0.1 (0; 0.3) 0.298 ICAM-1 0 (0; 0) 0 (0; 0) 1.000 VCAM-1(x10 -3 ) 12.06 (11.59; 12.49) 12.12 (10.42; 12.75) 0.764 IFN 2.18 (2.05; 2.42) 2.16 (1.91; 2.37) 0.255 IL-1 2.87 (2.87; 2.87) 2.87 (2.87; 2.87) 0.529 IL-6 2.1 (2.1; 2.1) 2.1 (2.1; 2.1) 0.689 TNF-α 2.26 (2.26; 2.26) 2.26 (2.26; 2.26) 0.522 Time of ART (years) < 5 20 (54.1%) 14 (25.5%) 0.005 5–10 11 (29.7%) 16 (29.1%) ≥ 10 6 (16.2%) 25 (45.4%) CD4+ T Cells Count (Cells/mm 3 ) < 200 0 (2.1%) 2 (3.5%) 0.013 200–349 6 (7.4%) 1 (1.8%) ≥ 350 32 (84.2%) 54 (94.7%) * Mean ± SD – Independent Student’s t-test was applied. † Median (P25; P75) – Kruskall–Wallis test was applied. HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; CIMT: carotid intima-media thickness; ART: antiretroviral therapy. higher levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF- α , us-CRP, and sVCAM-1. 2,3 Both our studies and other ones cited have small sample size, so further investigation is needed to more accurately confirm the relationship between inflammatory markers and the occurrence of carotid atherosclerosis. Our result can be explained by careful selection of our patients. Both are attended at a referral centre for HIV treatment, with good medical follow-up. Our sample evaluates an “ideal” patient, who has undetectable viral load for probably a rather long time, since the time of ART is greater than five years in 63% and without previous or current use of protease inhibitors. In addition, the FRS calculation for cardiovascular disease is low. These data point to the importance of patient awareness among health professionals, guiding them and controlling risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. 94