Data from: The impact of HCV infection duration on HIV disease progression and response to cART amongst HIV seroconverters in the UK

Introduction: The effect of HCV infection on HIV disease progression
remains unclear; the effect of HCV infection duration on HIV disease
progression is unknown. Methods: We used data from a cohort of HIV
seroconverters to investigate the effect of HCV infection duration on time
from HIV seroconversion to CD4 <350cells/mm3, AIDS or death,
censoring at the earlier of cART initiation or last clinic visit,
adjusting for confounders and splitting data into follow up periods from
HIV seroconversion (<2, 2–4 and >4 years). We additionally
compared CD4 cell decline following HCV infection to that of mono-infected
individuals with similar HIV infection duration by fitting a random
effects model. In a separate analysis, we used linear mixed models to we
examine the effect of HCV infection and its duration on CD4 increase over
48 weeks following cART. Results: Of 1655 individuals, 97 (5.9%) were HCV
co-infected. HCV<1 year was associated with a higher risk of
endpoint in each follow-up period from HIV seroconversion (HR [95% CI]
2.58 [1.51, 4.41], p = 0.001; 3.80 [1.20, 12.03], p = 0.023; 2.03 [0.88,
4.71], p = 0.098 for <2, 2–4 and >4 years respectively),
compared to mono-infected individuals. However, we found no evidence of an
association for those with HCV>2 years (all p>0.89).
Individuals experienced a somewhat greater decrease in CD4 count following
HCV infection lasting 13 months, relative to individuals with HIV alone,
(estimate = -3.33, 95% CI [-7.29, 0.63] cells/mm3 per month, p = 0.099).
Of 1502 initiating cART, 106 (7.1%) were HCV co-infected, with no evidence
of HCV duration at cART being associated with immunological response (p =
0.45). Conclusions: The impact of HCV co-infection on HIV disease
progression appears to be restricted to the first year after HCV
infection.