Serum Level of adiponectin and associated risk of cardiovascular disease among people living with HIV infection in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

This study investigates the precise connection between lipid profiles and serum adiponectin in HIV-infected individuals and reviews the metabolic and cardiovascular complications of HIV. The study is a case-control study involving HIV-infected subjects on antiretroviral therapy (ART) attending General Hospital Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, and non-HIV-infected subjects of age-matched. The study involved 60 participants who were grouped into HIV-infected and non-infected groups. The non-infected group was the control group, consisting of 20 HIV-negative subjects; the HIV-infected group was the test group, which comprised 40 HIV-infected subjects. The adiponectin level was measured by ELISA, and the lipid profile was also measured by the spectrophotometry method. In this study, it was found that HIV patients on ART exhibited significantly lower mean serum adiponectin levels (7.04 ± 0.76 μg/mL) compared to the non-HIV-infected group (10.52 ± 0.46 μg/mL). The mean serum total cholesterol level in the non-HIV-infected subjects was lower (141.3 ± 2.71 mg/dl) compared to the HIV-infected patients (208.6 ± 6.52 mg/dl). The mean serum triglyceride level in the non-HIV-infected subjects was lower (133.44 ± 9.89 mg/dl) compared to the HIV-infected patients (183.9 ± 14.84 mg/dl). The mean serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in the non-HIV-infected subjects was lower (67.79 ± 3.30 mg/dl) compared to the HIV-infected group (135.19 ± 6.16 mg/dl). The mean concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in the non-HIV-infected group was higher (47.09 ± 4.36 mg/dl) compared to the HIV-infected group (36.48 ± 2.17 mg/dl). The results indicated a negative correlation between adiponectin levels and total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-C among HIV-infected participants and a positive correlation between adiponectin and HDL-C at p<0.01. The findings suggest that the reduced adiponectin level in the HIV-infected subjects may be associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and other metabolic conditions. This result demonstrates that HIV patients are more susceptible to cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction.