# Enhancing cardiovascular risk estimation in individuals aging with HIV/HCV co-infection

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $418,321

## Abstract

This administrative supplement to parent grant R01 AG062393 is submitted for consideration in response to
NOT-AG-22-014, Notice of Special Interest: Administrative Supplements for HIV/AIDS and Aging Research
and PA-20-272, Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements.
The prevention and management of chronic noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease
(CVD) is a priority for the aging HIV population. Traditional CVD risk factors do not fully explain the increased
CVD risk observed among people living with HIV (PWH), and HIV-related inflammation and immune
dysregulation are thought to drive excess risk. Indeed, established CVD risk prediction functions have been
demonstrated to underestimate risk in HIV. The mechanism of CVD risk in PWH is further complicated in the
setting of co-infection with Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which affects cardiometabolic risk factors and confers an
inflammatory state. The aims of the parent grant are to investigate the association of HCV with CVD risk
among PWH. Completed analyses from Aim 1 of the parent grant indicate that HCV modifies the increasing
risk of AMI with age, with a greater AMI risk per ten-year increase in age for PWH with HCV versus those
without HCV. In this supplement application, we propose to use these findings to inform new analyses that
extend the CVD risk prediction analyses in Aim 3 of the parent grant. The proposed supplement will employ
data from the NA-ACCORD cohort and leverage existing research infrastructure to investigate the
synergistic impact of HCV infection and age on CVD risk prediction in PWH, with the objective of
developing a new risk prediction model for individuals living with HIV and HCV. The findings will
answer critical and clinically relevant questions through the following Aims:
 Specific Aim 1: Assess the synergistic effect of HCV and age on CVD risk prediction in PWH. We will
incorporate an interaction term for HCV and age into established CVD risk prediction functions, assessing
whether inclusion of the interaction term improves the accuracy of models compared to established risk
prediction functions and to a function with HCV alone among a cohort of PWH. The accuracy of newly-
developed risk prediction models will be assessed via discrimination and calibration.
 Specific Aim 2: Develop a tailored CVD risk prediction model for PWH with HCV co-infection. We will
incorporate HCV-related variables into established CVD risk prediction functions in a cohort of PWH with HCV.
Traditional CVD risk factors and HIV-related factors will also be considered in model development. The
accuracy of the new risk prediction function will be assessed and compared with models generated in Aim 1
with the objective of developing an optimal risk prediction function for HIV/HCV co-infected individuals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10613780
- **Project number:** 3R01AG062393-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Virginia Athena Triant
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $418,321
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10613780

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10613780, Enhancing cardiovascular risk estimation in individuals aging with HIV/HCV co-infection (3R01AG062393-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10613780. Licensed CC0.

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