Extract
To the Editor:
Studies in HIV-infected populations in developed countries have shown an increased prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in comparison with their HIV-uninfected counterparts [1, 2]. This is due in part to higher prevalence of smoking in these populations. Studies have included subjects with or without a history of smoking [3, 4], specific populations (e.g. history of intravenous drug use (IDU) [5]), and African-American or Hispanic minorities in the USA [4, 5]. Few studies have been performed in Europe [3]. When looking at HIV-related factors, history of Pneumocystis infection or colonisation [6], HIV viral load >200 000 copies·mL−1 [5] and antiretroviral therapy (ART) [4] were associated with COPD. However, further studies are needed.
The objective of our study was to evaluate the burden of COPD and associated factors in a French multicentric cohort of smoking, HIV-infected subjects aged ≥40 years.
This was a cross-sectional prevalence study of COPD nested in the ANRS EP48 HIV-CHEST cohort, a French, multicentric, prospective study evaluating the relevance of low-dose chest tomography for early lung cancer diagnosis in HIV-infected subjects from 14 clinical centres (registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov with identifier NCT01207986). Inclusion criteria were age ≥40 years, smoking history of ≥20 pack-years within the last 3 years, a nadir CD4+ T-cell count
- Received July 15, 2014.
- Accepted September 20, 2014.
- ©ERS