A groundbreaking global study has uncovered significant limitations in current cardiovascular risk prediction models for people living with HIV. Researchers found that existing models underestimate heart disease risks for women and black men in high-income countries, while simultaneously overestimating risks in low- and middle-income countries. The study, published in Lancet HIV, emphasizes the critical need for more nuanced, population-specific risk assessment tools. This research could potentially transform how healthcare professionals approach cardiovascular health for HIV patients worldwide.
"These
findings allow researchers to fine-tune cardiovascular disease prediction
models for people living with HIV" - Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, NHLBI
New York, Jan 19: A team of US
researchers has found that for people with HIV, current risk models
underestimated cardiovascular events in both women and black men in high-income
countries.
Key Points
1. Global
study highlights cardiovascular risk disparities for HIV patients
2. Risk
models need region-specific adjustments for accurate predictions
3. Research reveals differences in cardiovascular events across income levels
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of
morbidity and mortality globally, posing a particularly significant threat to
people with HIV (PWH), according to new study published in the journal Lancet
HIV.
Previous studies have called into question whether
these commonly used prediction models perform well among people with HIV, and
there remains a gap in understanding of what these scores mean for PWH in low-
and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, a
founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, in collaboration
with an international team of investigators, conducted a study to evaluate how
well existing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk estimates
could be used to predict cardiovascular outcomes in global populations with
HIV.
Their prospective cohort study used data from
Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) to analyse
individuals with HIV who were from low-, middle-, and high-income countries
across several continents.
The researchers found that for those in REPRIEVE,
current risk models underestimated cardiovascular events in both women and
black men in high income countries (HICs), while overestimating cardiovascular
events for all PWH in LMICs.
“These findings allow researchers to fine-tune
cardiovascular disease prediction models for people living with HIV,” said
Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, a medical officer within the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
“Assessing the accuracy of these predictions in
subgroups of the population is possible because of carefully developed outreach
and enrolling a diverse study population – representing all people at risk,”
Desvigne-Nickens added.
According to Steven Grinspoon, chief of the
Massachusetts General Hospital Metabolism Unit in the Endocrinology Division of
the Department of Medicine, this study underscores the need for nuanced,
region-specific and population-specific CVD prediction models that accurately
reflect cardiovascular risk for PWH, including those living in LMICs.—IANS
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