Eleven anthropometric indicators are associated with Framingham risk score in men but not in women living with HIV.
Metabolic and morphological changes caused in people living with HIV (PLHIV) by infections and antiretroviral therapy increase cardiovascular risk. Anthropometric indicators are low-cost tools for cardiovascular risk assessment. This cross-sectional study evaluated the association between 11 anthropometric indicators and cardiovascular risk in 354 cis-gender PLHIV of both sexes ≥18 years, attending a public outpatient clinic in northeastern Brazil. Sociodemographic, clinical, personal, and anthropometric data were collected. Cardiovascular risk was determined using the Framingham risk score, and sex-stratified multivariable regression analyses adjusted for confounders were performed (p < 0.05). Participants were predominantly male (58.8%) with a mean age of 42.7±13.0 years. Cardiovascular risk was low in 70.1%, moderate in 16.7% and high 13.3%. Conicity index (CI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body shape index (BSI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body roundness index (BRI) were significantly associated with cardiovascular risk only in men (standardized beta (β*) = 0.4985, β* = 0.4861, β* = 0.4645, β* = 0.4320 and β* = 0.4204, respectively) after adjustment for relevant confounders. No significant associations wereobserved in women. In conclusion, anthropometric indicators, particularly CI and WHR, were independently associated with cardiovascular risk in men living with HIV. These findings support the use of simple anthropometric measures for cardiovascular risk assessment in men with HIV.