Antiretroviral treatment and time since HIV-1 diagnosis are associated with large artery stiffness in sub-Saharan African HIV-1 patients

Background: HIV-1 infection in northern populations is associated with increased large artery stiffness, both in the absence and presence of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART).It is unclear if similar changes occur in sub-Sahara African HIV-infected persons.The study aimed to determine whether HIV-1 infection with and without cART is associated with large artery stiffness in a cohort of HIV-1-infected patients in Tanzania.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 146 subjects were recruited: 40 uninfected controls, 51 HIV-1-infected untreated persons, and 55 on cART for at least 12 months.Patients were screened for history of hepatic, renal, haematological or cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipoproteinaemia, and hypertension.Following screening, 4 untreated and 21 cART HIV-1 patients were excluded; leaving 47 HIV-1-infected untreated and 34 cART patients to be studied.cART included first line treatment: lamivudine/zidovudine with nevirapine or efavirenz.Large artery stiffness was assessed using applanation tonometry via pulse wave analysis to determine aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and augmentation index corrected to a heart rate of 75 bpm (AIx@HR75).