Association of serum lipid levels with HIV serostatus, specific antiretroviral agents, and treatment regimens

BACKGROUND: The effects of HIV infection, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and specific antiretroviral agents on lipoproteins in women are not well described. METHODS: In a cross-sectional substudy of the Women's Interagency HIV Study with 623 HIV-negative and 1556 HIV-positive women (636 untreated, 419 on non-protease inhibitor [PI] HAART, and 501 on PI-containing HAART), we performed multivariate analyses of associations among fasting lipoprotein levels, HIV infection, and HAART. RESULTS: Untreated HIV-positive women had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and higher triglycerides (TGs) but not lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) than HIV-negative women and were the most likely to have unfavorable HDL-C by National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines. PI HAART users had higher LDL-C than untreated HIV-infected women (107 vs. 100 mg/dL, P = 0.0006) and were the most likely to have unfavorable LDL-C and TGs by NCEP guidelines. HIV-negative women and non-PI HAART users had similar HDL-C levels (55 and 53 mg/dL, respectively), which were higher than those in untreated HIV-infected women and PI HAART users (42 and 49 mg/dL, respectively; P < 0.001 for all). Lamivudine, didanosine, nevirapine, and efavirenz were independently associated with higher HDL-C (P < 0.001 for all). Ritonavir, indinavir/ritonavir, and nelfinavir were associated with higher LDL-C (P < 0.01 for all). Stavudine, abacavir, and all ritonavir-containing regimens were associated with higher TGs (P < 0.05 for all), and tenofovir was associated with lower TGs (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: A dyslipidemic pattern was associated with HIV infection itself, was more severe in users of PI-containing HAART, but was not present in women taking non-PI HAART.