Prevalence, healthcare costs and management of non-communicable diseases in people living with human immunodeficiency virus: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Coexistence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is an important public health issue of increasing concern. However, the prevalence, healthcare costs and management protocols for NCDs in people living with HIV (PLHIV) remain unclear in most settings. AIM: To scope evidence on prevalence, healthcare costs and disease management protocols associated with NCDs in PLHIV from studies published before July 2019. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for published articles, and reference lists were checked for relevant studies. Key terms included were HIV/AIDS, co-morbidity or multi-morbidity, NCDs, healthcare costs, treatment protocols, diabetes mellitus, hypertension in various combinations. RESULTS: A total of 152 records were assessed, and thereafter 25 studies were included in the final review after all the elimination. Twelve of the 25 studies mostly reported prevalence of NCDs in PLHIV, 4 reported impact of HIV-NCD co-morbidity on healthcare costs and 1 reported management protocols and capacity of antiretroviral therapy (ART) sites to manage HIV-NCD co-morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Results showed higher prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in PLHIV compared with HIV-negative people. However, there was inconsistency in NCD prevalence data from studies conducted in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, and limited research evidence on capacity of ART sites to manage NCDs in PLHIV. Low prevalence rates of NCDs reported in SSA countries could be an indication of limited capacity to screen for NCDs because of the influence of health system and/or patient-level factors. Most studies were generally limited to cross-sectional studies, with very few interventional, longitudinal studies.

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in people living with human immunodeficiency virus on antiretroviral therapy in Gweru district, Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has markedly increased survival in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV), emerging trends of co-existence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and HIV could negate the gains already achieved in controlling HIV. AIM: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in PLHIV on ART in Gweru district. SETTING: Six high-volume ART sites in Gweru district under Midlands province in Zimbabwe. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Screening and data collection occurred over a 3-month cycle when all patients were expected to have visited the ART sites for their monthly ART drug supply. The process also allowed the identification of health system challenges regarding data management for HIV-NCD comorbidity. Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate NCD prevalence ratio (PR) in PLHIV. RESULTS: Nearly 18 000 PLHIV registered for ART were identified. Hypertension (19.5%) and diabetes mellitus (8.4%) were the most common NCDs identified with a high proportion of those who did not know their diagnosis (over 50%). The prevalence of hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus among women was 74.9% compared to 25.1% in men (PR 3.22; 95% CI: 3.07-5.51, p = 0.0000). Other factors associated with increased prevalence of hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus were age group of ≥ 60 years (PR 2.5; 95% CI: 1.42-3.22, p = 0.00023), and duration of ≥ 5 years on ART (PR 6.4; 95% CI: 4.70-8.01, p = 0.0011). Separate data collection for NCDs and HIV was a key challenge affecting quantification of magnitude of HIV-NCDs comorbidity and subsequently management of NCDs in PLHIV. CONCLUSIONS: Indications of increasing prevalence of NCDs in PLHIV call for integrated electronic data management for HIV, TB and NCDs. This will allow active NCD case finding, and eventually improve prevalence data and treatment for HIV-NCD comorbidity. Future studies should focus on the health experiences and access to treatment in PLHIV diagnosed with NCDs; and to establish the accurate manner in which HIV status, ART and NCDs might be associated, through conducting a case control or cohort study.