|
|
|
|
|
|
| Preventing HIV |
| Treating HIV |
| Living with HIV |
| For service providers |
| For health care providers |
| Access our services |
| Find organizations |
| News and events |
| About CATIE |
| Site map |
| Home |
| CATIE Ordering Centre |
TreatmentUpdate 174Volume 21 Issue 5 2009 July/August I SIDE EFFECTS AND COMPLICATIONS: F. The kidneys and hep C in womenHistorically, most studies in HIV research and treatment have been done using male volunteers. As a result, the precise impact of HIV and many HIV medicines on the health of HIV positive women may not be clear or may take a long time to uncover. In an attempt to begin to resolve this situation, researchers in the U.S. established the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). This study enrolled HIV positive women as well as women at high risk for this infection. Researchers noted the effects of HIV infection and, later, anti-HIV drugs on the women over a period of years. Health-related information collected on the women was entered into the WIHS database. Recently, researchers completed an analysis of the impact of HCV co-infection on the kidney health of women in WIHS. Their findings suggest that in some HIV positive women, HCV co-infection increased the risk of kidney damage. Study detailsResearchers analysed information on 2,684 HIV positive women, 945 (35%) of whom were co-infected with HCV. On average, the HCV co-infected women were described in this way by the research team: “They were more likely to be older, African American, poor and drug users” at the time they entered the WIHS. ResultsAt the start of the study, about 8% of the co-infected women had an eGFR of about 60, suggesting that they had chronic kidney disease (CKD). Moreover, co-infected women were twice as likely to have CKD as women who had HIV only. Women who entered the study with CKD (an eGFR of less than 60) continued to have detectable kidney damage over the next five years. What’s more, with each passing year their eGFR continued to fall, suggesting that CKD grew worse. On average, eGFRs fell by 5% each year among these women. Even when researchers took into account many factors, they still found that having HCV co-infection was statistically a more powerful predictor of declining kidney health over time than any of the following factors:
The findings from this study should not be entirely surprising—larger studies of HCV positive people who don’t have HIV have found similar results. HCV infection might play a role in declining kidney health through the following ways:
The findings from the WIHS study need to be confirmed and extended in other co-infected women. REFERENCE:
Created on: 2009 August 10 Author: Hosein SR |
|
| |
|
Decisions about particular medical treatments should always be made in consultation with a qualified medical practitioner who is knowledgeable about HIV-related illness and the treatments in question. MORE | |