Strong impact of smoking on multimorbidity and cardiovascular risk among HIV infected individuals in comparison to the general population. Open Forum Infectious Diseases
Hasse et al. assessed the prevalence of comorbidities and multimorbidity in participants of the SHCS compared with the population-based CoLaus study and the primary-care based FIRE records. They identified associations of HIV with increased risks of hypertension and kidney and liver disease, unlike cardiovascular disease where the risk is associated with smoking. They did not find evidence for an increased prevalence or incidence of diabetes mellitus associated with HIV infection or smoking.
The study-results suggest that in clinical practice emphasis should be given to smoking cessation and lifestyle interventions among HIV-infected patients.