Increased incidences of noninfectious comorbidities among aging populations living with human immunodeficiency virus in Ecuador: a multicenter retrospective analysis

Abstract

Isabel Hernández,1,2 Julio Barzallo,3 Simón Beltrán,4 Alberto Castillo,5 Nelson Cevallos,6 Patricio Hernández,7 Camilo López,8 Rita Vera,9 Gabriela Yerovi,10 Alejandra Mendoza,1 Santiago Terán,1 Andres Izurieta,11 Enrique Teran11Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador; 2Facultad de Enfermería, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador; 3Hospital Teofilo Dávila, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Machala, Ecuador; 4Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social, Quito, Ecuador; 5Hospital Eugenio Espejo, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Quito, Ecuador; 6Hospital Enrique Garcés, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Quito, Ecuador; 7Hospital de Infectología Dr. José Daniel Rodríguez Maridueña, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Guayaquil, Ecuador; 8Hospital Teodoro Maldonado Carbo, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social, Guayaquil, Ecuador; 9Hospital Abel Gilbert Pontón, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Guayaquil, Ecuador; 10Programa Nacional para Control del VIH, Ministerio de Salud Pública, Quito, Ecuador; 11Department of Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAIntroduction: Besides the well-known increased risk of developing HIV-related infectious comorbidities; compared with the general population, people living with HIV (PLHIV) may also have an increased risk of developing noninfectious comorbidities (NICMs). This is the first study intended to determine the NICMs rates affecting PLHIV who were under cART regimen in Ecuador.Methods: A total of 503 HIV-positive patients were evaluated during the period June 2015-November 2016 and included in a multicenter retrospective, cross-sectional study conducted in seven main government and nongovernment community-based hospitals in Ecuador.Results: The average age of the participants was 39.2±11.9 years old and the majority of them were male (67.2%). The average age at HIV diagnosis was 34.1 years old and cART in average was started 15.9 months after HIV-diagnosis. Recruited patients were receiving cART for an average of 59.2±40.2 months. Only 9.9% (n=50) of the patients did not show any NICMs. Diabetes and pre-diabetes was found in 6% (n=30) and 16.3% (n=82) patients, respectively; however, dyslipidemia and overweight/obesity was frequent, as they affected 41.4% (n=208) and 36.4% (n=183) patients, respectively. Sixty patients (11.9%) were diagnosed with depression and 28.2% (n=142) of the studied subjects were found to have other NICMs.Conclusion: Prevalence of NICMs among subjects under cART was greater than that reported among the Ecuadorian general population, therefore specific public health actions are required to make patients aware of and prevent NICMs among PLHIV in Ecuador.Keywords: HIV noninfectious comorbidities, people living with HIV, HIV combined antiretroviral therapy, HIV diagnosis, HIV treatment, HIV in developing countries, HIV in Ecuador

Keywords

• HIV noninfectious comorbidities
• people living with HIV
• HIV combined antiretroviral therapy
• HIV diagnosis
• HIV treatment
• HIV in developing countries
• HIV in Ecuador