Key result
People living with HIV had significantly thicker preperitoneal fat compared to uninfected controls (p=0.04), which correlated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaque (OR 1.49, p=0.02).
Why the study?
Optimal management of cardiovascular disease requires identifying subclinical disease, but existing tools are not always accurate or affordable.
Does ultrasound-based assessment of abdominal fat layers correlate with cardiovascular risk markers in people living with HIV compared to matched controls?
Case-Control (n=20)
Does ultrasound-based assessment of abdominal fat layers correlate with cardiovascular risk markers in people living with HIV compared to matched controls?
Ultrasound-assessed preperitoneal fat thickness is increased in people living with HIV and correlates with subclinical atherosclerosis, suggesting its potential as a surrogate marker for cardiovascular risk.
Optimal management of cardiovascular disease should start with the identification of subjects at subclinical stages. However, available tools are not always accurate or affordable. We assess the usefulness of ultrasound-guided measurement of abdominal fat layers as a surrogate marker of cardiovascular risk. We performed a cross-sectional, case–control, exploratory, pilot study in 10 people living with HIV (PLWH) and 10 HIV-uninfected subjects (control group) matched for age, sex, and body mass index. All participants were men 45–60 years of age, with no active disease or previous abdominal surgery; the PLWH group had been virologically suppressed for ≥2 years under stable antiretroviral therapy. The thickness of abdominal superficial and deep subcutaneous fat, preperitoneal fat, omental (periaortic) fat, and retroperitoneal (perirenal) fat was compared between both groups. Correlations between fat layers and traditional markers of cardiovascular risk were assessed. The thickness of most layers was always higher among PLWH. The differences were statistically significant for the preperitoneal fat layer (p = .04). The presence of atherosclerotic plaque was correlated with the preperitoneal fat layer in the PLWH group (odds ratio = 1.49, p = .02), and metabolic syndrome was correlated with superficial subcutaneous fat, although this was low (odds ratio = 0.54, p = .02). In the control group, several associations were found between carotid intima media thickness and abdominal fat layers. All abdominal fat layers were thicker in the PLWH group, especially preperitoneal fat, and several associations were found between specific fat layers and traditional cardiovascular risk markers. Our results suggest that the thickness of abdominal fat layers, assessed by ultrasound, could be a marker of cardiovascular risk. However, further studies with larger populations are required to confirm these findings.
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A 2021 study conducted a case-control in HIV (n=20). HIV infection vs. HIV-uninfected controls was evaluated on Thickness of preperitoneal fat layer (p=0.04). People living with HIV had significantly thicker preperitoneal fat compared to uninfected controls (p=0.04), which correlated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaque (OR 1.49, p=0.02).
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