Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies of HIV-infected patients have shown significant associations between highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and increased blood pressure; however, the mechanisms involved are less clear. Therefore, we sought to investigate the potential impact of body fat changes in mediating the effects of HAART on blood pressure changes among people living with HIV.MethodsFour hundred six consenting patients (≥18 years of age) attending a tertiary HIV clinic in semi-urban Nigeria were recruited between August and November 2014 as part of a cross-sectional study. We performed bias-corrected bootstrap tests of mediation using 95 % confidence intervals (CI) to determine the mediating effects of body mass index and waist circumference (mediators) on the total effects of HAART exposure (primary predictor) on blood pressure (outcome), while controlling for age, sex and other potential confounders.ResultsWaist circumference remained a significant partial mediator of the total effects of HAART exposure on increasing systolic blood pressure (coefficient: 1.01, 95 % CI: 0.33 to 2.52, 11 % mediated) and diastolic blood pressure (coefficient: 0.68, 95 % CI: 0.26 to 1.89, 9 % mediated) after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, CD4 count and duration of HIV infection. No significant mediating effect was observed with body mass index alone or in combination with waist circumference after adjusting for all potential confounders.ConclusionWaist circumference significantly mediates the effects of HAART on blood pressure in persons living with HIV, independent of the role of traditional risk factors. The use of waist circumference as a complementary body fat measure to body mass index may improve the clinical prediction of hypertension in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0152-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Previous studies of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients have shown significant associations between highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and increased blood pressure; the mechanisms involved are less clear
We sought to examine whether the effects of antiretroviral therapy on blood pressure may be mediated by different measures of body fat, notably body mass index and waist circumference, in people living with HIV
Assessing these alternative causal pathways could be useful in uncovering the complex epidemiology of hypertension and other cardio-metabolic disorders among people living with HIV, especially in sub-Saharan African settings, where the burden of HIV infection is highest and the increase in antiretroviral coverage is the steepest in the world [12]
Summary
Previous studies of HIV-infected patients have shown significant associations between highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and increased blood pressure; the mechanisms involved are less clear. We sought to examine whether the effects of antiretroviral therapy on blood pressure may be mediated by different measures of body fat, notably body mass index and waist circumference, in people living with HIV. Assessing these alternative causal pathways could be useful in uncovering the complex epidemiology of hypertension and other cardio-metabolic disorders among people living with HIV, especially in sub-Saharan African settings, where the burden of HIV infection is highest and the increase in antiretroviral coverage is the steepest in the world [12]
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