Comorbidity and aging with HIV

Objective

The main goals of this project are: 1) To develop a screening protocol for HIV related co-morbidities and their risk factors through multi disciplinary expert consultation. 2) To implement this screening protocol in the setting of a large HIV outpatient clinic 3) To assess the prevalence and incidence of co-morbidity and organ system dysfunction in the setting of HIV infection and to evaluate whether the burden is increased compared to a comparable group of HIV-uninfected healthy individuals 4) To compare quality of life both between patients with and without co-morbidity, who are HIV-infected or HIV-uninfected.

Background

Use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has resulted in a major decline of HIV-related morbidity and mortality. As a result, the life expectancy of patients with HIV has increased. Unfortunately, this major success of cART does come at a cost. Several studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, liver disease, osteoporosis, malignancies, and possibly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in HIV-infected individuals when compared to in age matched HIV-uninfected controls. There is increasing evidence that, over and above the effects of age, both HIV-related factors and adverse effects of cART also independently contribute to the risk.

In this project one of the main aims is to assess the incidence and prevalence of a broad range of co-morbidities and known risk factors for these co-morbidities in HIV-infected patients using a number of complimentary approaches.

Summary