Individuals with HIV experience an increased incidence of de novo, subclinical peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to findings published in AIDS. Moisés Alberto Suárez Zdunek, BS, and colleagues conducted a prospective, longitudinal study of people with HIV to determine PAD incidence and potential risk factors. The researchers conducted ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurements at study entry and at 2-year follow-up and included participants with normal ABI at study entry, defining de novo PAD as an ABI of less than or equal to 0.9 at follow-up. Among 844 people with HIV who were followed for a median duration of 2.3 years, 30 (3.6%) developed de novo PAD, and all cases were subclinical. Diabetes (relative risk [RR]=4.90; 95% CI, 1.99-12.1), a current CD4 count of less than 350 cells/μl (RR=2.66; 95% CI, 1.06-6.71), longer ART duration (RR=1.88; 95% CI, 1.06-3.33 per decade), and concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (RR=1.33; 95% CI, 1.08-1.63 per doubling) and interleukin-6 (RR=1.38; 95% CI, 1.06-1.80 per doubling) were associated with de novo PAD.
