Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries and is associated with obesity, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are also highly prevalent in this group of patients, due to the presence of shared risk factors. The incidences of coronary artery calcification, hypertension, aortic valve sclerosis, diastolic dysfunction, atherosclerotic plaques, and increased carotid intima-media thickness were more common in patients with NAFLD than in those without. The present paper reviews the medical literature concerning the association between NAFLD and cardiovascular events.

Introduction Delay in HIV diagnosis and consequently late care entry with low CD4 counts remain a major challenge for the control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The aim of this study was to analyse the evolution of characteristics of the HIV epidemic in Poland. Methods Cross‐sectional data were collected for 3972 HIV‐infected patients followed up in 14 of 17 Polish HIV treatment centres in the years 2000–2015. Clinical data were analysed and factors associated with late presentation (baseline CD4 count < 350 cells/μL or history of AIDS‐defining illness) and advanced HIV disease (baseline CD4 count < 200 cells/μL or history of AIDS) were identified. Results The majority (57.6%) of patients entered care late, while 35.6% presented with advanced HIV disease. The odds of being linked to care late or with advanced HIV disease increased consistently across age categories, increasing from 2.55 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46–4.47] for late presentation and 3.13 (95% CI 1.49–6.58) for advanced disease for the 21–30‐year‐old category to 5.2 (95% CI 1.94–14.04) and 8.15 (95% CI 2.88–23.01), respectively, for individuals > 60 years of age. Increased risks of late entry and advanced HIV disease were also observed for injecting drug users [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.74 (95% CI 1.16–2.60) and 1.55 (95% CI 1.05–2.30), respectively], with lower aOR associated with the men who have sex with men transmission route [aOR 0.3 (95% CI 0.31–0.59) and 0.39 (95% CI 0.29–0.53), respectively]. The frequencies of cases in which patients were linked to care late and with advanced HIV disease decreased over time from 67.6% (2000) to 53.5% (2015) (P < 0.0001) and from 43.5% (2000) to 28.4% (2015) (P = 0.001), respectively. Conclusions Despite improvements over time, most patients diagnosed with HIV infection entered care late, with a third presenting with advanced HIV disease. Late care entry remains common among people who inject drugs and heterosexual groups.

Introduction: Modern combined antiretroviral therapies (cART) allow to effectively suppress HIV-1 viral load, with the 90% virologic success rate, meeting the WHO target in most clinical settings. The aim of this study was to analyse antiretroviral treatment efficacy in Poland and to identify variables associated with virologic suppression.Methods: Cross-sectional data on 5152 (56.92% of the countrywide treated at the time-point of analysis) patients on cART for more than six months with at least one HIV-RNA measurement in 2016 were collected from 14 Polish centres. Patients’ characteristics and treatment type-based outcomes were analysed for the virologic suppression thresholds of <50 and <200 HIV-RNA copies/ml. CART was categorized into two nucleos(t)ide (2NRTI) plus non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase (NNRTI) inhibitors, 2NRTI plus protease (PI) inhibitor, 2NRTI plus integrase (InI) inhibitor, nucleos(t)ide sparing PI/r+InI and three drug class regimens. For statistics Chi-square and U-Mann Whitney tests and adjusted multivariate logistic regression models were used.Results: Virologic suppression rates of <50 copies/mL were observed in 4672 (90.68%) and <200 copies/mL in 4934 (95.77%) individuals. In univariate analyses, for the suppression threshold <50 copies/mL higher efficacy was noted for 2NRTI+NNRTI-based combinations (94.73%) compared to 2NRTI+PI (89.93%), 2NRTI+InI (90.61%), nucleos(t)ide sparing PI/r+InI (82.02%) and three drug class regimens (74.49%) (p < 0.0001), with less pronounced but significant differences for the threshold of 200 copies/mL [2NRTI+NNRTI-97.61%, 2NRTI+PI-95.27%, 2NRTI+InI-96.61%, PI/r+InI- 95.51% and 86.22% for three drug class cART) (p < 0.0001). However, in multivariate model, virologic efficacy for viral load <50 copies/mL was similar across treatment groups with significant influence by history of AIDS [OR:1.48 (95%CI:1.01–2.17) if AIDS diagnosed, p = 0.046], viral load < 5 log copies/mL at care entry [OR:1.47 (95%CI:1.08–2.01), p = 0.016], baseline lymphocyte CD4 count ≥200 cells/µL [OR:1.72 (95%CI:1.04–2.78), p = 0.034] and negative HCV serology [OR:1.97 (95%CI:1.29–2.94), p = 0.002]. For viral load threshold <200 copies/mL higher likelihood of virologic success was only associated with baseline lymphocyte CD4 count ≥200 cells/µL [OR:2.08 (95%CI:1.01–4.35), p = 0.049] and negative HCV status [OR:2.84 (95%CI:1.52–5.26), p = 0.001].Conclusions: Proportion of virologically suppressed patients is in line with WHO treatment target confirming successful application of antiretroviral treatment strategy in Poland. Virological suppression rates depend on baseline patient characteristics, which should guide individualized antiretroviral tre0atment decisions.

Background The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced migration for safety, protection, assistance. Poland is the primary sheltering country for Ukrainian refugees, providing support including medical care, which resulted in the rapid ∼15% increase in the number of followed-up people with HIV (PWH) in the country. Here, we present the national experience on HIV care provided for refugees from Ukraine. Methods Clinical, antiretroviral, immunological, and virologic data from 955 Ukrainian PWH entering care in Poland since February 2022 were analyzed. The dataset included both antiretroviral-treated (n = 851) and newly diagnosed patients (n = 104). In 76 cases protease/reverse transcriptase/integrase sequencing was performed to identify drug resistance and subtype. Results Majority (70.05%) of the patients were female, with a predominance of heterosexual (70.3%) transmissions. Anti-hepatitis C antibody and hepatitis B antigen were present in 28.7% and 2.9% of the patients, respectively. A history of tuberculosis was reported in 10.1% of cases. Among previously treated patients viral suppression rate was 89.6%. In 77.3% new cases were diagnosed with lymphocyte CD4 count &lt; 350 cells/μl or AIDS. The A6 variant observed in 89.0% sequences. Transmitted mutations in the reverse transcriptase were found in 15.4% treatment-naïve cases. Two patients with treatment failure exhibited multi-class drug resistance. Conclusions Migration from Ukraine influences the characteristics of HIV epidemics in Europe, with an increase in the proportion of women and hepatitis C co-infected patients. Antiretroviral treatment efficacy among previously treated refugees was high, with new HIV cases frequently diagnosed late. The A6 subtype was the most common variant.

The present study retrospectively analyses the prevalence of late diagnosis in patients with newly-diagnosed HIV infection in Lodz, Poland from January 2009 to December 2016, and assesses the predictive factors associated with late presenters. Late presentation is defined as a diagnosis of HIV with a CD4 count<350 cells/μL, or the occurrence of an AIDS- defining event, regardless of the CD4 cell count. Two hundred and fifty-nine (62.86%) patients were late presenters, 178 of whom (68.72%) were advanced late presenters (CD4 cell count below 200 cells/μL). Multivariate factors associated with late HIV presentation included referral from physician for HIV testing (OR: 3.95, 95% CI 2.42-6.46), older age (OR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.38-2.38) and route of HIV transmission. Heterosexual patients (OR 1.98, 95% CI: 1.01-3.90), active drug users (OR: 3.49, 95% CI: 1.63-7.48) and patients who did not report the route of transmission (OR: 4.29, 95%: CI 1.45-12.62) were more likely to present late than MSM subjects. In conclusion, the majority of HIV-infected patients are still diagnosed late. There is a need for expanded testing not only in MSM group, in which HIV prevalence is the highest, but also in intravenous drug users, or among subjects who are heterosexual or from a higher age group.