Factors Associated with Persistently Increased IL-6 Levels in People with HIV

Clicks: 4
ID: 326880
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #426 of 439 articles by views in The Journal of infectious diseases

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 439 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Abstract Background Individuals with HIV remain at higher risk of non-communicable diseases associated with interleukin-6-specific (IL-6) inflammation compared to the background population. Despite antiretroviral therapy, some individuals exhibit persistent hyperinflammation. We characterise these understudied longitudinal profiles and distinguish the predictors of chronic versus acute inflammation. Methods A subset from the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment (START) trial with up to seven years of biomarker follow-up was included. Inflammatory states were defined based on plasma IL-6 levels, measured at randomisation, months eight, 12, and annually until 84. Hyperinflammation was defined as IL-6>1.8 pg/mL; ≥2 consecutive elevated measurements defined persistent hyperinflammation and a single elevated bracketed by non-elevated measurements defined IL-6 blips. Variables associated with these outcomes were analysed by generalized estimating equations. Results Among 2,102 individuals with a median of 5 (IQR: 4-6) measurements, 861 (41%) had persistent hyperinflammation whereas 575 (27%) had blips. Participants with BMI≥40 versus 18.5 to <25 (OR: 5.49, 95%CI: 4.18-7.20) and females with black ethnicity versus white males (2.58, 2.17-3.06) had increased risk of persistent hyperinflammation but not blips. Other persistent hyperinflammation predictors included higher white blood cell (WBC) counts, HIV-1 RNA, total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein ratio >5, older age, smoking and diabetes. Of these only higher WBCs were also associated with blips. Conclusions Persistent hyperinflammation is strongly associated with demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and HIV-1 RNA, whereas blips were associated with markers of immune activation. Longitudinal IL-6 measurements are needed to distinguish persistent hyperinflammation from blips, which can lead to establishing a “high-risk phenotype” to target for clinical intervention.
Reference Key
openalex_W7206191124 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Victoria S. Kjærgaard, Bruno Ledergerber, Wendy Bannister, Ricardo Cortez Cardoso Penha, Jason V. Baker, Simon Collins, H. Clifford Lane, Gail Matthews, Sarah L Pett, Cavan Reilly, Amy Weintrob, Maja Milojevic, Jens Lundgren
Journal The Journal of infectious diseases
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/infdis/jiag451
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.