After ART initiation, lipid abnormalities were improved temporarily then gradually worsened,” comment the authors. They suggest that the transient improvement in lipids was “perhaps due to the suppression of viral replication and restoration of immune function following ART initiation, representing a return towards a less proinflammatory state and pre-infection serum lipid levels. However, “this benefit was not sustained” and by month 36 the prevalence of dyslipidemia had increased to 73%.
Changes in lipids varied according to HIV treatment regimen. People taking an AZT-based regimen had a greater reduction in triglyceride levels at month six (-16 vs 6.3 mg/ml) and a lower increase at three years (2.1 vs 11.7 mg/dl, p < 0.001) compared to people taking d4T. People taking regimens containing nevirapine had a higher increase in HDL-cholesterol after three years of treatment compared to those on efavirenz-based therapy (13.6 vs 9.5 mg/dl, p = 0.01).
The investigators note that the unfavourable lipid profile of d4T is well known and believe their results support the WHO recommendation to switch from this drug to AZT of tenofovir in first-line combination in resource-limited settings.
Other factors associated with unfavourable lipid changes during treatment were being male, older age and being overweight or obese.
The authors conclude that their research provides “further evidence for HIV health professions to select lipid friendly ART for HIV-infected patients with increased cardiovascular risk in SSA. They call for further studies to examine “the underlying mechanisms by which ART influences lipid levels, determine how much the lipid abnormalities translate into cardiovascular disease risk, and develop effective strategies to control cardiovascular risk among HIV-infected patients on ART.”