Abstract
APOL1 renal risk alleles are associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults, with the strongest effect being for HIV-associated nephropathy. Their role in youth with perinatal HIV-1 infection (PHIV) has not been studied. In a nested case-control study of 451 PHIV participants in the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study, we found a 3.5-fold increased odds of CKD in those carrying high-risk APOL1 genotypes using a recessive model [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2 to 10.0]. We report an unadjusted incidence of 1.2 CKD cases/100 person-years (95% CI: 0.5 to 2.5) in PHIV youth carrying APOL1 high-risk genotypes, with important implications for sub-Saharan Africa.
