Peripheral arterial disease in HIV-infected and uninfected women.
OBJECTIVE
Although HIV infection has been associated with increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been assessed in HIV-infected patients. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, PAD using ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement in HIV-infected and uninfected women.


METHODS
ABI was determined for 335 participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to determine factors associated with high (>or=1.40) ABI.


RESULTS
The prevalence of low ABI (<or=0.9) was 0.9% (n=3) and the prevalence of high ABI (>or=1.40) was 6.9% (n=23). The prevalence of low ABI was too low to allow risk factor analysis. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with high ABI were current cigarette smoking [adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) 2.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99-6.43], being underweight (OR(adj) 11.0, 95% CI 1.61-75.63) and being overweight (OR(adj) 5.40, 95% CI 1.13-25.89).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the prevalence of ABI <or=0.9 was low in this cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women, the prevalence of ABI >or=1.40 was unexpectedly high. Further studies are indicated to determine the clinical significance of high ABI and its relation to the risk of cardiovascular events in HIV-infected women.
Sharma
A
A
Department of Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203-2098, USA. anjali.Sharma@downstate.edu
Holman
S
S
Pitts
R
R
Minkoff
H L
HL
Dehovitz
J A
JA
Lazar
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000842:Ankle; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography