This study aims to estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to assess the agreement between the Framingham, Framingham with aggravating factors, PROCAM, and DAD equations in HIV-infected patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in an outpatient centre in Brazil. 294 patients older than 19 years were enrolled. Estimates of 10-year cardiovascular risk were calculated. The agreement between the CVD risk equations was assessed using Cohen's kappa coefficient. The participants' mean age was 36.8 years (SD = 10.3), 76.9% were men, and 66.3% were on antiretroviral therapy. 47.8% of the participants had abdominal obesity, 23.1% were current smokers, 20.0% had hypertension, and 2.0% had diabetes. At least one lipid abnormality was detected in 72.8%, and a low HDL-C level was the most common. The majority were classified as having low risk for CV events. The percentage of patients at high risk ranged from 0.4 to 5.7. The PROCAM score placed the lowest proportion of the patients into a high-risk group, and the Framingham equation with aggravating factors placed the highest proportion of patients into the high-risk group. Data concerning the comparability of different tools are informative for estimating the risk of CVD, but accuracy of the outcome predictions should also be considered.

Introduction: Coronary heart disease and its risk factors depend on genetic characteristics, behaviors, and habits, all of which vary in different regions. The use of antiretroviral therapy (ARV) has increased the survival of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), who begin to present mortality indicators similar to the general population. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of factors potentially associated with coronary heart disease in three cohorts of PLWHA from three different regions of Brazil. Methodology: The study population was composed of participants of the cohorts of Pernambuco, Goiás, and Rio Grande do Sul states. In these sites, adult patients attending reference centers for treatment of HIV/AIDS were consecutively enrolled. Results: Pernambuco and Goiás had a higher proportion of males and of individuals with high-risk high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Pernambuco also had a greater proportion of individuals with hypertension, elevated triglycerides, and CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm 3 . Lower education was more frequent in Rio Grande do Sul, and the use of cocaine was higher in this state. Conclusions: The results confirm the importance of risk factors for coronary heart disease in PLHIV and highlight differences in the three cohorts. Specific measures against smoking and sedentary lifestyle, avoidance of advanced stages of immunosuppression, and appropriate treatment of dyslipidemia and dysglicemia are urgently needed to cope with the disease in Brazil.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of overweight, abdominal obesity and associated factors in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Method: Cross-sectional study with 270 PLWHA. A questionnaire was applied to investigate sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle characteristics. Weight, height and waist circumference were measured. BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 was considered overweight, while abdominal obesity referred to waist circumference ≥102 cm for men and ≥88 cm for women. The authors used multiple Poisson regression with 5% significance level. Results: The prevalence of overweight and abdominal obesity was 33.7% and 12.6%, respectively, referring to 37.9% of women and 5.7% of men (p<0.001). Overweight was associated with age of 40-49 years and ≥50 years, non-use of ARV therapy, and lower tertile of consumption of risk foods. Abdominal obesity was associated with: female gender, age of 40-49 years and ≥50 years, income greater than four times the minimum wage, and CD4+ lymphocyte count >350 cells/mm³. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of overweight and abdominal obesity associated with sociodemographic and clinical conditions, and consumption of risk foods. This scenario indicates the need for reorientation of the health care focus in this population.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) reduces AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, however it has been associated with metabolic abnormalities. This study estimated the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and related factors among patients on HAART. A cross-sectional study was conducted on adult patients, in central Brazil. Patients were interviewed, and blood obtained for lipids measurement. Dyslipidemia was defined as total cholesterol (TC) > 240 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) > 160 mg/dL, triglycerides (TG) > 200 and/or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) < 40 mg/dL. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed (SPSS 13.0). One hundred and thirteen patients were recruited. Mean age was 39.3 years; 68.1% were males; 50.4% were on nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) in combination with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), while 42.5% were on NRTI in combination with protease inhibitors (PIs). The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 66.7%. Low HDL was the most frequent abnormality (53.5%), followed by high TG (36.1%). Patients on a PI regimen had a 5.2-fold higher risk (95% CI: 1.8-14.8) of dyslipidemia, even after adjusting for sex, age, and duration of HIV infection/AIDS. The study discloses a high prevalence rate of dyslipidemia and points out a need for intervention programs to reduce future cardiovascular events in patients, on HAART.