Prevalence of renal disease within an urban HIV-infected cohort in northern Italy

Background

Renal disease is an increasingly recognized noninfectious comorbidity associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Methods

Our retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluated prevalence of nephropathy among HIV-infected patients followed up in our outpatient clinic during the year 2011. Renal dysfunction and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <90 ml/min per 1.73 m² and as renal damage or eGFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m² over a 3-month or greater period, respectively.

Results

We enrolled 894 HIV-infected patients with a mean age of 44.2 years and a mean current CD4 lymphocyte count of 508 cells/mm³. The prevalence of renal dysfunction and CKD was 27.4 and 21.3 %, respectively. Older age, male gender, hypertension, diabetes, proteinuria, hypertriglyceridemia, lower nadir CD4 cell count, current use of tenofovir or tenofovir plus a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor were independently associated with renal dysfunction.

Conclusion

Renal dysfunction is a frequent comorbidity among HIV-infected persons and requires a careful clinical and laboratory monitoring of renal function.