Low free testosterone in HIV-infected men is not associated with subclinical cardiovascular disease

Low testosterone (T) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and increased mortality in the general population; however, the impact of T on subclinical CVD in HIV disease is unknown. This study examined the relationships among free testosterone (FT), subclinical CVD, and HIV disease.

This was a cross-sectional analysis in 322 HIV-uninfected and 534 HIV-infected men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Main outcomes were coronary artery calcification presence, defined as a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score  >10 (CAC score was the geometric mean of the Agatston scores of two computed tomography replicates), and far wall common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)/carotid lesion presence by B-mode ultrasound.

Compared with the HIV-uninfected men in our sample, HIV-infected men were younger, with lower body mass index (BMI) and more often Black. HIV-infected men had lower FT (age-adjusted FT 88.7 ng/dL vs. 101.7 ng/dL in HIV-uninfected men; P=0.0004); however, FT was not associated with CAC, log carotid IMT, or the presence of carotid lesions. HIV status was not associated with CAC presence or log carotid IMT, but was associated with carotid lesion presence (adjusted odds ratio 1.69; 95% confidence interval 1.06, 2.71) in HIV-infected men compared with HIV-uninfected men.

Compared with HIV-uninfected men, HIV-infected men had lower FT, as well as more prevalent carotid lesions. In both groups, FT was not associated with CAC presence, log carotid IMT, or carotid lesion presence, suggesting that FT does not influence subclinical CVD in this population of men with and at risk for HIV infection.