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Abstract

Background: Over 38 million people are currently living with HIV. Despite antiretroviral therapies that have increased lifespan, people living with HIV (PLWH) experience faster cellular and immunological aging relative to their HIV-negative peers. Infection with chronic/latent viruses such as herpesviruses and hepatitis viruses may accelerate immunological aging. Individually, these viruses are associated with aging markers and/or age-associated diseases, but their cumulative effect is unknown. We characterized the number and type of seven non-HIV chronic/latent viruses in PLWH and those not living with HIV and investigated associations with leukocyte telomere length (LTL). Methods: A total of 187 PLWH (105F/82M) and 189 HIV-negative controls (105F/84M) were selected and balanced for each decade of age, sex, and HIV group. Past CMV, EBV, HHV-8, HSV-1, and HSV-2 infection was determined serologically; HIV, HCV, and HBV were self-reported. Relative LTL was measured using qPCR. Associations between number of viruses, LTL, and sociodemographic factors were assessed using ordinal logistic and linear regression modelling. Results: PLWH had significantly more non-HIV viruses than HIV-negative controls (p