CONCISE COMMUNICATIONS Circulating Autoantibodies to Erythropoietin Are Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Related Anemia

In a cohort of 204 unselected consecutive human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV1)‐infected patients, the association of circulating autoantibodies to endogenous erythropoietin (EPO) with HIV-1‐related anemia was studied. Circulating autoantibodies to EPO were present in 48 (23.5%) of the 204 patients studied. Circulating autoantibodies were an independent predictor of anemia (odds ratio ; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5‐9.9), as [OR] = 5.0 strong as other known causes of anemia. The association of anti-EPO antibodies with anemia became stronger when the analysis was limited to the group of patients without any medical condition causing anemia ( ; 95% CI, 3.2‐33.9). Moreover, the effect on hemoglobin OR = 10.4 levels remained significant even after adjusting for other anemia parameters. Anti-EPO autoantibodies were associated with higher EPO levels ( , ) and with a more prom