| Description: |
Background: The predictive factors of intima media thickness (IMT) in the HIV-infected population are still poorly understood. Patients and methods: We studied three groups of subjects, aged 30–50 years, to find potential predictive factors of carotid and/or femoral thickening (IMT> 1 mm in at least one area): healthy controls (G1, n5 54), HIV-infected naive (G2, n5 53) and highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART)-treated subjects (G3, n5 133). All the subjects underwent ultrasonography of the carotid and femoral vessels to evaluate IMT. Results: Demographic characteristics of the three groups were comparable, except for gender (G1 had a higher percentage of females) and lipid levels (higher in G3). A total of 115 subjects (47.9%) had carotid and/or femoral IMT: 26 in G1 (48.1%), 21 in G2 (39.6%) and 68 in G3 (51.1%). Independent predictive factors of carotid and/or femoral IMT were older age (OR: 2.81, 95 % CI: 1.95–4.04, P < 0.01, for each additional 5 years), triglycerides 150 mg/dL (OR: 2.66, 95 % CI: 1.27–5.57, P < 0.001), serum |