title: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with development of subclinical coronary artery disease in HIV-infected African American cocaine users with low Framingham-defined cardiovascular risk.
abstract: Chronic cocaine use may lead to premature atherosclerosis, but the prevalence of and risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic cocaine users have not been reported. The objective of this study was to examine whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of CAD in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected African American cocaine users with low CAD risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective follow-up study, we investigated 169 HIV-infected African American cocaine users with low Framingham risk at baseline. The main outcome measures were incidence of subclinical CAD and development of subclinical CAD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty of the 169 African Americans had evidence of subclinical disease on the initial cardiac computed tomography. A second cardiac computed tomography was performed on the 119 African Americans without disease on the first scan. The total sum of person-years of follow-up was 289.6. Subclinical CAD was detected in 11 of these, yielding an overall incidence of 3.80/100 person-years (95% confidence interval 1.90-6.80). Among the factors investigated, only vitamin D deficiency was independently associated with development of subclinical CAD. The study did not find significant associations between CD4 count, HIV viral load, or antiretroviral treatment use and the incidence of subclinical CAD. This study appears to suggest that there is a threshold level of vitamin D (10 ng/mL) above which the effect of vitamin D on subclinical CAD is diminished.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of subclinical CAD in HIV-infected African American cocaine users with low CAD risk is high, especially in those with vitamin D deficiency. Well designed randomized clinical trials are warranted to confirm the role of vitamin D deficiency in the development of CAD in HIV-infected African American cocaine users with low CAD risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Elliot K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Fishman
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gerstenblith
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Brinker
authors.forename: Jeanne C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Keruly
authors.forename: Shaoguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Detrick
authors.forename: Shenghan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality; D055030:Drug Users; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality
keywords: African Americans; cocaine use; prospective follow-up study; subclinical coronary artery disease; vitamin D deficiency