The Comorbidity of HIV and Diabetes among HIV Patients Attending Katsina General Hospital, Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Assessing the magnitude of diabetes, a disease that accounts for increasing morbidity and mortality among HIV patients, would help reduce financial losses incurred in treating the disease, considering that the disease is mostly reported when acute and chronic complications are about to begin. This study was conducted to identify the prevalence of diabetes among patients attending the antiretroviral (ART) center of Katsina General Hospital. The study aimed to identify the prevalence of diabetes among HIV patients to determine whether new cases are always recorded or otherwise in the study center. Two hundred (200) HIV-infected adults (aged ≥ 18) who had been on antiretroviral therapy for at least six months in the hospital were recruited. Participants’ demographics, HIV characteristics, the presence of diabetes via self-report, clinic folders, and measurement of their plasma fasting glucose and insulin levels on the day of the interview were evaluated. The magnitude of diabetes comorbidity was 3%. There was a weak positive relationship between fasting plasma glucose and alcohol (r=0.004), age (r=0.04), low-density lipoprotein (r=0.01), cholesterol (r=0.01), and viral load (r=0.032). Therefore, these factors are associated with increased odds of having diabetes. Thus, older age, higher BMI, higher viral load, alcohol, and duration on antiretroviral therapy increase the odds of having diabetes among HIV-positive adults. A lower prevalence of diabetes in clinic folders was found, for instance, indicating inadequate diagnosis of the disease in the center. Screening for the incidences of diabetes, addressing modifiable risk factors, and providing integrated care in the center would help improve the quality of life of comorbid patients.