Elevated Soluble CD14 and Lower D-Dimer Are Associated With Cigarette Smoking and Heavy Episodic Alcohol Use in Persons Living With HIV

Abstract

Background Persons living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease in part due to persistent inflammation and coagulation activation. Methods We examined whether smoking and heavy episodic alcohol use (defined as 5 or more drinks on one occasion) were associated with greater monocyte activation (sCD14) and coagulation (D-dimer) in participants in the Study to Understand the Natural History of HIV and AIDS in the Era of Effective Therapy (the ‘SUN’ Study), a prospective observational cohort. Results Using regression analysis (n = 689), current smoking compared with nonsmoking was associated with significantly elevated sCD14 (B= 135.57, 95%CI (84.95, 186.19), p < .001); whereas heavy alcohol use compared to non-heavy use was associated with significantly lower D-dimer levels (B= −.059, 95%CI (−.102, −.016), p = .007). Conclusions Smoking cessation should be encouraged by HIV care providers to improve mortality outcomes from all causes of death, particularly cardiovascular disease.

Alcohol use predicts elevation in inflammatory marker soluble CD14 in men living with HIV

“…Although liver damage did not appear to be a major contributor, it is possible that other health conditions not assessed in this study may have affected biomarker levels. Differences from previous studies, which included PLWH with detectable viral loads (Ancuta et al, 2008; Cioe et al, 2015), may have arisen because the current investigation assessed PLWH who were all heavy drinkers with virologic suppression. sCD14 is not specific to LPS and is induced by other TLR ligands (Shive, Jiang, Anthony, & Lederman, 2015).…”

“…Ancuta and colleagues (2008) found higher plasma LPS in PLWH who had alcohol use disorders than PLWH without substance use disorders. Cioe and colleagues (2015) reported that smoking, but not heavy drinking, was associated with elevated plasma sCD14 in PLWH. However, systematic investigation of MT and immune activation in relation to alcohol use has not been conducted among PLWH with virologic suppression (i.e., undetectable viral load).…”

Tobacco and alcohol use among drug users receiving methadone maintenance treatment: a cross-sectional study in a rural prefecture of Yunnan Province, Southwest China

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Tobacco and alcoholic beverages are highly addictive substances and widely consumed throughout the world, especially in China. 11 12 Tobacco and alcohol consumption have serious effects on public health and are regarded as the most common modifiable and preventable risk factors for major non-communicable diseases.…”

Impact of HIV infection and smoking on lung immunity and related disorders

“…Although few studies have addressed the influence of smoking in this setting, soluble (s)CD14 and TGF-β1, both of which are affected by smoking and remain elevated in the face of virally suppressive HAART [45,73,161,162], show promise. However, their clinical utility, as well as that of others, such as IL-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, sCD163 and D-dimer as biomarkers in identifying HIV-infected individuals at high risk for development of non-AIDS-defining disorders and death, especially those who smoke, awaits acquisition of additional data from well-controlled, definitive studies.…”