Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between risky drinking amounts and serum aminotransferase levels in HIV-infected adults with and without hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Method: In a prospective cohort of HIV-infected adults with current or past alcohol problems, we assessed whether drinking risky amounts (as defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) was associated with higher levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) over time, stratifying analyses by HCV status. Generalized linear mixed effects regression models were used to examine the association between risky drinking and natural log-transformed AST and ALT over time.
Results: Among HIV/HCV-coinfected persons (n = 200), risky drinking was associated with a higher adjusted mean AST (62.2 vs. 51.4 U/L; adjusted ratio of means 1.2, 95% CI [1.07, 1.37], p = .003) and ALT (51.3 vs. 41.6 U/L; adjusted ratio of means 1.2, 95% CI [1.07, 1.42], p = .004) compared with non-risky drinking. In contrast, among HIV-infected adults without HCV infection (n = 197), there were no significant differences between those who did and did not drink risky amounts in AST (34.7 vs. 33.3 U/L; adjusted ratio of means = 1.0, 95% CI [0.95, 1.14], p = .36) or ALT (29.1 vs. 28.7 U/L; adjusted ratio of means = 1.0, 95% CI [0.91, 1.13], p = .78).
Conclusions: Among HIV-infected adults with HCV, those who drink risky amounts have higher serum aminotransferase levels than those who do not drink risky amounts. These results suggest that drinking risky amounts may be particularly harmful in HIV/HCV-coinfected adults and supports recommendations that providers pay special attention to drinking in this population.