Background: The antiretroviral therapy (ART) greatly reduces the mortality and morbidity of patients with HIV, however, the adverse effects of ART are related to abnormal metabolic changes including hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Taken together with the systemic inflammatory states from HIV infection, the HIV-infected patients are now at a greater risk to develop cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in their lifetime.

Objective: To determine the incidence of CVD in HIV-infected patients in Thailand and their risk factors.

Materials and Methods: All HIV-infected patients aged 18 years or older that presented at either King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital or at The HIV Netherlands and Australia Thailand research (HIV-NAT) in 2010 were included. The incidence of CVD during 5-year follow-up and the possible risk factors were studied.

Results: One thousand eight hundred thirteen HIV-infected patients were included in the present study. The incidence of cardiovascular disease was 3.75 cases per 1,000 person-year. Major cardiovascular risk factors in HIV-infected patients included diabetes mellitus (adjusted odds ratio [adj OR] 4.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7 to 10.9), dyslipidemia (adj OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 9.8), previous cerebrovascular diseases (adj OR 34.7, 95% CI 5.1 to 233.5), and a family history of cardiovascular disease (adj OR 6.9, 95% CI 2.5 to 18.5).

Conclusion: Incidence of CVD in Thai HIV-infected patients was similar to other developed countries. Most of cardiovascular risk factors in non-HIV-infected patients are also common in HIV-infected patients.

Keywords: HIV, Cardiovascular disease, Risk factors