Demographical, Viro-Immunological, Clinical and Therapeutical Characteristics of HIV-Infected Patients in an “Epidemiologically Unexplored” Region of Italy (Calabria Region): the CalabrHIV Cohort
Maria Concetta Postorino1, Filippo Luciani2, Carmelo Mangano3, Maria Stella Carpentieri3, Paolo Scerbo4, Armando Priamo4, Giuseppina Berardelli5, Roberto Marino6, Alfredo Vallone6, Nicola Serrao7, Vincenzo Pisani1, Chiara Costa1, Albano Terremoto2, Giuseppe Foti3, Lucio Cosco4, Massimo Calderazzo5, Domenico Corigliano5, Preziosa Scordo1, Alessio Strazzulla1, Carlo Torti1 and the CalabrHIV Study Group
1Infectious
Diseases Unit, “Magna Graecia” University, Catanzaro
2Infectious Diseases Unit, “Annunziata”
Hospital, Cosenza
3Infectious Diseases Unit,
“Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli” Hospital, Reggio Calabria
4Infectious Diseases Unit, “Pugliese-Ciaccio”
Hospital, Catanzaro
5Infectious Diseases Unit, “Giovanni Paolo II”
Hospital, LameziaTerme, Catanzaro
6Infectious Diseases Unit, “Jazzolino” Hospital,
Vibo Valentia
7Infectious Diseases Unit, “San Giovanni di Dio”
Hospital, Crotone
Received: March 21, 2015
Accepted: September 13, 2015
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2015, 7(1): e2015054, DOI 10.4084/MJHID.2015.054
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Abstract Background
and Objectives: HIV
epidemics may differ among epidemiological contexts. We aimed at
constructing an HIV clinical cohort whose main epidemiological,
clinical and therapeutical characteristics are described (the CalabrHIV
cohort, Calabria Region, Southern Italy).
Methods: The CalabrHIV Cohort includes all HIV patients on active follow-up in all infectious disease centers in the Calabria Region as at October 2014. All information was recorded in a common electronic database. Not-infectious co-morbidities (such as cardiovascular diseases, bone fractures, diabetes, renal failure and hypertension) were also studied. Results: 548 patients (68% males; 59% aged <50 years) were included in the CalabrHIV cohort. Major risk factors were: sexual transmission (49%) and intravenous drug use (34%). 39% patients had HCV and/or HBV co-infection. Amongst 404 patients who had a complete clinical history, 34% were AIDS presenters and 49.3% had CD4 count ≤350/mm3 at HIV diagnosis. 83% patients on HAART had undetectable HIV-RNA. Hypertension was the most frequent co-morbidity (21.5%). Multimorbidity was more frequent in >50 years old patients than in <50 years old ones (30% vs. 6%; p<0.0001). Co-morbidity was more frequent in HCV and/or HBV co-infected than in HIV mono-infected patients (46.6% vs. 31.7%: p=0.0006). Conclusion: This cohort presentation study sheds light, for the first time, on HIV patients’ characteristics in the Calabria Region. We showed that HIV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis were affected by concomitant not-infectious co-morbidities more than the HIV mono-infected individuals. New HCV treatments are therefore to be implemented in the co-infected population. |
Introduction
HIV infection may give diverse clinical manifestations, due to
virus-related factors, but also to host-related conditions and
psycho-social peculiarities. Therefore, epidemiological and clinical
features of HIV-infected patients may be different across different
countries and regions of the same country, so detailed regional
analyzes are very important to identify health priorities of HIV
patients.
Percentages of patients with HIV infection and/or with
AIDS have been underrated in the Calabria Region. Major causes may be
hypothesized: stigma and marginalization due to HIV diagnosis,[1]
the psycho-social fragility of HIV population, under-reporting of new
HIV diagnoses. Moreover, in the Calabria Region, incidence, prevalence
and characteristics of diseases (including HIV) are affected by a
massive “health migration”. Indeed, for a matter of reasons, many
patients living in the Calabria Region choose to be followed in
Hospitals located in the North and Centre of Italy.
In HIV patients also drug prescription can diverge from national
guidelines on regional clinical practice.[2]
Moreover, there are no available data regarding premature aging and
not-infective co-morbidities in HIV-infected patients from the Calabria
region.[3]
So, the aim of this study was to
describe baseline characteristics of HIV population in active follow-up
in the Calabria Region, in order to identify health priorities of
patients and create a large regional prospective cohort including all
HIV-infected patients (the CalabrHIV Cohort). Main epidemiological,
clinical and therapeutical characteristics have been assessed for the
first time in our region. Moreover, we wanted to explore in
HIV-infected patients whether or not HCV or HBV co-infection was
associated with higher percentages of not-infectious co- morbidities
than HIV mono-infection.
Both HIV and HCV are associated with a wide range of co-morbidities.[4-7]
In particular, HIV-infected patients suffer from premature aging,
putting them at risk of not-infectious co-morbidities at younger ages
than the general population.[3,4]
Indeed, high levels
of predictive biomarkers of inflammation typical of the great elderly
people were found in young people with HIV infection.[3]
Previous cohort studies showed a greater risk of diabetes mellitus,
acute myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular events in HIV-infected
patients than in HIV-negative ones.[8-12]
It is
currently not demonstrated whether HCV or HBV co-infection may
accelerate premature aging in HIV-infected patients, increasing rates
of cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases in these subjects. In
conclusion, the reasons leading to the study were:
1. To present a cohort profile of the
CalabrHIV study group.
2. To focus on clinical characteristics
of the enrolled patients, mainly the risk of comorbidities.
Materials and methods
All the infectious
diseases centers in the Calabria Region (Catanzaro, Vibo Valentia,
Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, and Crotone) have merged their data to create
a regional observational prospective cohort, so called CalabrHIV
Cohort. Patients’ characteristics were collected in a common electronic
database containing all epidemiological, demographic, virological,
immunological, clinical and therapeutic information. Latest follow-up
was available in October 2014.
Not-infectious comorbidities
diagnosed until October 2014 were also recorded: cardiovascular
diseases (defined as acute myocardial infarction, stroke, transient
ischemic attack, angina pectoris, coronary bypass, angioplasty, chronic
occlusive arterial disease), hypertension (defined as blood pressure
≥140/90 mmHg or antihypertensive therapy), diabetes (fasting serum
glucose ≥126 mg/dl or anti-diabetes therapy), renal failure (eGFR
≤60ml/min measured with CKD-EPI formula)[13]
and bone
fractures. Multimorbidity was defined as ≥2 not-infectious
co-morbidities occurring in the same patient. For the analysis of
not-infectious co-morbidities, patients were divided into four age
groups: aged ≤40, between 41 and 50 years, between 51 and 60 years and
>60 years.
Data were analyzed using common statistical descriptive procedures
(with statistical significance: p≤0.05).
Results
Five hundred forty-eight patients (68% males; 59% aged <50 years) on active follow-up as at October 2014 were included in the CalabrHIV Cohort. Table 1 reports the main patients’ demographic, epidemiological and clinical characteristics. Major risk factors for HIV acquisition were sexual transmission (49%) and intravenous drug use (34%). About 40% patients had HCV and/or HBV co-infection.
Table 1. Patient’ characteristics. |
AIDS
and late presentation:
Although a good virological response was ongoing (73% had undetectable
HIV-RNA), the immunological status of patients, with a CD4 nadir
<200/mm3,
was still compromised. Only 42% of these patients had actual CD4 count
>500/mm3).
404/548 patients had available data about AIDS at HIV diagnosis, of
these 34% were AIDS presenters, and 49.3% had CD4 count ≤350/mm3.
HAART
prescription: 90% patients were on HAART and, among these, 83% had
undetectable HIV-RNA. A huge diversity in HAART prescription was
noticed: 92% first-line HAART included ≥3 different drugs. Only 5%
first line prescriptions included <3 antiretroviral drugs but,
amongst the currently ongoing regimens, 15% included <3 drugs as
simplification regimens. 49% patients actually in mono-/ dual- therapy
vs. 40% patients actually in HAART had a nadir CD4 <200/mm3.
Actual HIV RNA was <50 copies/ml in 81% patients receiving
mono-/
dual- therapy and in 83% of patients on HAART. The actual CD4 T cell
count was >500/mm3
in 60% patients receiving mono-/ dual- therapy and in 62% patients on
HAART.
Study
of not infectious co-morbidities:
Median value of not infectious comorbidities per patient was 0.58
(range 0-4). 21.5% patients had at least one co-morbidity. None of the
patients had five, not infectious comorbidities. Hypertension was the
most frequent disease (21.5% patients) followed by cardiovascular
diseases (11.5%), renal failure (10%) and diabetes (10%) (Figure 1).
Multimorbidity was more frequently found higher in >50 years old
patients than in <50 years old (30% vs. 6%; p<0.0001) (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Not-infectious co-morbidities (%) by age classes |
Figure 2. Multi-morbidity (% by age classes) in CalabrHIV cohort. |
Patients
were ranked into two groups: HIV mono-infected patients
(61%) and HIV patients co-infected with HCV and/or HBV (39%).
Table 2
shows main epidemiological, clinical and demographic characteristics of
HIV mono-infected patients and HIV patients coinfected with HCV and/or
HBV. Co-infected patients were significantly older [mean age 49 years
(SD 8.7) vs. 46 years (SD 12.7); p=0.0003] and more frequently had AIDS
than mono-infected ones (39% vs. 21%; p<0.0001). Although not
statistically significant, nadir and actual CD4 T cell values were
lower in co-infected patients than in mono-infected ones.
Multimorbidity
rate was higher in patients aged ≥50 years with HCV and/or HBV
co-infection than in HIV-mono-infected (70% vs. 46%; p=0.0037). An
increased significance in the difference due to multimorbidity was
found in age groups starting from 40 years (39.5% vs. 26%; p=0.0293),
although difference was even inverse at >60 years of age (54%
vs.
92%; p=0.026) (Figure 3a-b).
There was a difference in bone fractures rates between HIV
mono-infected patients and patients with HCV and/or HBV co-infection at
a borderline significance value (5.2% vs. 9%; p=0.07).
Table 2. Patients’ characteristics (HIV positive patients vs.HIV patients co-infected with viral hepatitis). |
Figure 3. a) % Multi-morbidity in HIV mono infected patients; b) % Multi-morbidity in HIV patients co-infected with viral hepatitis |
Discussion
Main demographic and clinical characteristics of CalabrHIV Cohort may be compared with other national cohorts. In particular, patients of CalabrHIV Cohort are older (patients age was mainly up to 40 years old) than patients belonging to the Italian MASTER Cohort (mean age 38.5 years old).[15]
This datum may be due to selection bias since patients of older age may be those less prone to migration. Alternatively, it may reflect a later diagnosis (i.e., HIV infection is discovered later in life). However, our data are consistent with national estimates; that reported a progressive increase in mean age of patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Italy.[14]
Percentages of late presenters in the CalabrHIV Cohort were similar to those reported recently in Europe and Italy.[16-19] About one third HIV patients in Europe were late presenters.[19] Data from the Italian AIDS Registry from 1982 to 2011 showed a progressively increased proportion of AIDS diagnoses in patients aged >49 years in the latest years.[18] Older patients with AIDS were more frequently males, late testers and diagnosed with AIDS in more recent years than younger patients.[18] Rates of late presentation may vary by country, by nationality and by transmission patterns. As reported in a recent international study, rates of AIDS diagnosis within three months from HIV diagnosis in Italy was 14.5%.[17] In Italy people, presenting late acquired infection more frequently by heterosexual contact, whereas, in other countries, greater rates of late presenters were reported among intravenous drug users.[17] Late presentation was associated with a higher rates of AIDS and mortality, in particular during the first year after HIV diagnosis.[19] Moreover, patients presented late showed a greater risk of HAART not-adherence, drug toxicity, disease progression and death with respect to patients who presented earlier.[20]
National guidelines may be interpreted and applied differently in different regional contexts. National HIV/AIDS guidelines do not recommend mono-/ dual-therapy as standard regimens.[21] At present, a valuable percentage of patients in the CalabrHIV cohort is treated with <3 drugs (15%) and their viro-immunological profiles are similar to that of patients on HAART. Viro-immunological results in our patients are consistent with those recently published.[22]
HIV infection accelerates the normal process of aging.[3] Previous studies showed a higher prevalence of not infectious comorbidities (such as diabetes mellitus) and a greater relative risk of acute myocardial infarction in HIV-infected patients compared with HIV-negative ones.[8-10] Also, risk of cerebrovascular diseases was higher in patients with HIV infection.[12] At the same time, previous cohort studies do not explain the possible current association between HIV infection and other risk factors of not infectious co-morbidities (such as smoking, obesity, or family related risk).[11,12,23]
Prevalence of not-infectious comorbidities and multimorbidity rate in CalabrHIV cohort were similar to those reported by Guaraldi et al.[4] However, in that study, patients already diagnosed with lipodystrophy and/or metabolic diseases were included, whereas, in the CalabrHIV Cohort, HIV population may be more similar to the general.
It is important to highlight that comorbidities rate was significantly greater in HIV patients coinfected with HCV and/or HBV than in HIV mono-infected patients (46.6% vs. 31.7%: p=0.0006); this datum was not published yet. Also multimorbidity rate was higher in co-infected patients than in HIV-mono-infected ones. This effect was not driven by the oldest subjects since an increasing significance was found with the increase in age starting from 40 years. Hepatitis viruses co-infection may modify the natural history of HIV infections, further accelerating premature aging.[24-26] Interestingly, difference in co-morbidity rates was even inverse (54% vs. 92%; p=0.026) at >60 years of age in our cohort, probably because of age-related risk diluted the impact of HCV and/or HBV co-infection in the elderly. In conclusion, our results suggest that a greater attention should be given to HIV co-infected patients, particularly to those of younger age. Since eradication of HCV was associated not only with prevention of liver-related morbidity and mortality[27] but also with prevention of not infectious events, treatment of HCV with the new drugs[28,29] should be implemented.
Aims of CalabrHIV Study Group are to continue prospective follow-up and patients’ recruitment. Prevention and early detection of not infectious comorbidities are important, in particular in the younger ones. Treatment of HCV should be extended to patients infected with HIV with the aim of improving both liver and general conditions of patients.
Acknowledgments
In addition to the authors of this paper, CalabrHIV Cohort thanks all patients, doctors, nurses and colla+
\borators of all participating centers: Infectious Diseases Unit, “Magna Graecia” University, Catanzaro; Infectious Diseases Unit, “Annunziata” Hospital, Cosenza; Infectious Diseases Unit, “Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli” Hospital, Reggio Calabria; Infectious Diseases Unit, “Pugliese-Ciaccio” Hospital, Catanzaro, Infectious Diseases Unit, “Giovanni Paolo II” Hospital, LameziaTerme, Catanzaro, Infectious Diseases Unit, “Jazzolino” Hospital, Vibo Valentia, Infectious Diseases Unit, “San Giovanni di Dio” Hospital, Crotone.
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