Prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy in Uganda.

Introduction: antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved survival of People Living with HIV (PLWH); however, this has resulted in an increasingly high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) like hypertension. Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebral vascular disease, which are both associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. We studied the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among PLWH on ART.

Prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Uganda-a descriptive retrospective study.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Uganda.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: This study was conducted in the outpatient's T2DM clinic in St.

Predictors of loss to follow up among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending a private not for profit urban diabetes clinic in Uganda - a descriptive retrospective study.

Background: Although the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing in Uganda, data on loss to follow up (LTFU) of patients in care is scanty. We aimed to estimate proportions of patients LTFU and document associated factors among patients attending a private not for profit urban diabetes clinic in Uganda.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study between March and May 2017.

What causes non-adherence among some individuals on long term antiretroviral therapy? Experiences of individuals with poor viral suppression in Uganda.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) use by people living with HIV reduces HIV transmission, morbidity, mortality, and improves quality of life. Good ART adherence is required to achieve these benefits. We investigated how the environmental, social, economic and behavioural experiences of people living with HIV with poor viral suppression could explain their non-adherence to long term ART.

Are treatment supporters relevant in long-term Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) adherence? Experiences from a long-term ART cohort in Uganda.

Background: This study aimed to understand the relevance of treatment supporters in adherence among people living with HIV taking Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for more than five years in Uganda.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 participants (28 women and 22 men) of the Complications of Long-Term ART (CoLTART) cohort with experience of at least five years on ART in Uganda. Participants were stratified by line of ART regimen and viral loads of less or above 1000 copies/ml.

Virological failure on first-line antiretroviral therapy; associated factors and a pragmatic approach for switching to second line therapy-evidence from a prospective cohort study in rural South-Western Uganda, 2004-2011.

Introduction: We investigated factors affecting Virological failure (VF) on first line Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and evaluated a pragmatic approach to switching to second line ART.

Methods: Between 2004 and 2011, we assessed adults taking ART. After 6 months or more on ART, participants with VL >1000 copies/ml or two successive VL > 400 copies/ml (Conventional VF) received intensified adherence counselling and continued on first-line ART for 6 more months, after which participants who still had VL > 1000 copies/ml (Pragmatic VF) were switched to second line ART.

Cardiometabolic risk among HIV-POSITIVE Ugandan adults: prevalence, predictors and effect of long-term antiretroviral therapy.

Introduction: We investigated the prevalence, predictors of and effect of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) regimen on cardiometabolic risk among HIV-positive Ugandan adults at enrolment into a prospective cohort to study the Complications of Long-Term ART (CoLTART).

Methods: We collected data on cardiometabolic risk factors including dyslipidemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, obesity and calculated the mean atherogenic index for Plasma (AIP) and 10 year Framingham risk score (FHS). Exposures were: ART regimen, duration on ART, demographic, socio-economic, behavioral, and life-style factors including smoking, physical activity and diet (including fruit and vegetables consumption).

COHORT PROFILE: The Complications of Long-Term Antiretroviral Therapy study in Uganda (CoLTART), a prospective clinical cohort.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves the survival and quality of life of HIV-positive individuals, but the effects of long-term ART use do eventually manifest. The Complications of Long-Term Antiretroviral Therapy cohort study in Uganda (CoLTART) was established to investigate the metabolic and renal complications of long-term ART use among Ugandan adults. We describe the CoLTART study set-up, aims, objectives, study methods, and also report some preliminary cross-sectional study enrolment metabolic and renal complications data analysis results.

From antiretroviral therapy access to provision of third line regimens: evidence of HIV Drug resistance mutations to first and second line regimens among Ugandan adults.

Background: HIV care programs in resource-limited settings have hitherto concentrated on antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, but HIV drug resistance is emerging. In a cross-sectional study of HIV-positive adults on ART for ≥6 months enrolled into a prospective cohort in Uganda, plasma HIV RNA was measured and genotyped if ≥1000 copies/ml. Identified Drug resistance mutations (DRMs) were interpreted using the Stanford database, 2009 WHO list of DRMs and the IAS 2014 update on DRMs, and examined and tabulated by ART drug classes.

The effect of Tenofovir on renal function among Ugandan adults on long-term antiretroviral therapy: a cross-sectional enrolment analysis.

Background: WHO recommends using Tenofovir containing first line antiretroviral therapy (ART), however, Tenofovir has been reported to be associated with renal impairment and dysfunction. We compared renal function among individuals on Tenofovir and those on non-Tenofovir containing ART.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of HIV-Positive adults on ART, at enrolment into a prospective cohort to study the long-term complications of ART in Uganda, information on biophysical measurements, medical history, clinical examination and renal function tests (RFTs) was collected.

Trends in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus antibodies prior to the development of HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma: a nested case-control study.

HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa since both the causative agent, Kaposi's sarcoma associated-herpesvirus (KSHV), and the major risk factor, HIV, are prevalent. In a nested case-control study within a long-standing clinical cohort in rural Uganda, we used stored sera to examine the evolution of antibody titres against the KSHV antigens K8.1 and latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) among 30 HIV-infected subjects who subsequently developed HIV-related KS (cases) and among 108 matched HIV/KSHV coinfected controls who did not develop KS.

The dual impact of antiretroviral therapy and sexual behaviour changes on HIV epidemiologic trends in Uganda: a modelling study.

Objectives: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) availability in a population may influence risky sexual behaviour. We examine the potential impact of ART on the HIV epidemic, incorporating evidence for the impact that ART may have on risky sexual behaviour.

Methods: A mathematical model, parameterised using site-specific data from Uganda and worldwide literature review, was used to examine the likely impact of ART on HIV epidemiologic trends.

Mortality and its predictors among antiretroviral therapy naïve HIV-infected individuals with CD4 cell count ≥350 cells/mm(3) compared to the general population: data from a population-based prospective HIV cohort in Uganda.

Background: Evidence exists that even at high CD4 counts, mortality among HIV-infected antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve individuals is higher than that in the general population. However, many developing countries still initiate ART at CD4 ≤350 cells/mm(3).

Objective: To compare mortality among HIV-infected ART naïve individuals with CD4 counts ≥350 cells/mm(3) with mortality in the general Ugandan population and to investigate risk factors for death.

Association of HIV and ART with cardiometabolic traits in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest burden of HIV in the world and a rising prevalence of cardiometabolic disease; however, the interrelationship between HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART) and cardiometabolic traits is not well described in SSA populations.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis through MEDLINE and EMBASE (up to January 2012), as well as direct author contact. Eligible studies provided summary or individual-level data on one or more of the following traits in HIV+ and HIV-, or ART+ and ART- subgroups in SSA: body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TGs) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

Estimation of the HIV basic reproduction number in rural south west Uganda: 1991-2008.

Background: The basic reproduction number, [Formula: see text], is one of the many measures of the epidemic potential of an infection in a population. We estimate HIV [Formula: see text] over 18 years in a rural population in Uganda, examine method-specific differences in estimated [Formula: see text], and estimate behavioural changes that would reduce [Formula: see text] below one.

Methods: Data on HIV natural history and infectiousness were collated from literature.

Effect of HIV-1 subtypes on disease progression in rural Uganda: a prospective clinical cohort study.

Objective: We examined the association of HIV-1 subtypes with disease progression based on three viral gene regions.

Design: A prospective HIV-1 clinical cohort study in rural Uganda.

Methods: Partial gag, env and pol genes were sequenced.

Patients' worries before starting antiretroviral therapy and their association with treatment adherence and outcomes: a prospective study in rural Uganda, 2004 - 2009.

Background: In HIV-infected persons, good adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential for successful treatment outcomes. Patients' worries before starting ART may affect their ART adherence and treatment outcomes.

Methods: Between 2004 and 2009, HIV-infected individuals in a prospective cohort study in rural Uganda were assessed for ART eligibility.

Non-consensual sex and association with incident HIV infection among women: a cohort study in rural Uganda, 1990-2008.

Non-consensual sex is associated with HIV infection in Africa, but there is little longitudinal data on this association. We describe reported non-consensual sex among women over two decades in southwest Uganda, including associations with incident HIV infection. Between 1990 and 2008, individuals in a population cohort who recently seroconverted to HIV were enrolled into a clinical cohort, along with randomly selected HIV-negative controls.

HIV-1 subtype distribution trends and evidence of transmission clusters among incident cases in a rural clinical cohort in southwest Uganda, 2004-2010.

The high diversity of HIV-1 has been shown to affect disease progression, transmission, and response to antiretroviral therapy and may influence HIV vaccine design. We describe the distribution trends of HIV-1 subtypes over a 7-year period among incident cases in a rural clinical cohort in Southwest Uganda and identify transmission clusters. Viral RNA was extracted from cryopreserved plasma samples from 94 participants who seroconverted and enrolled between 2004 and 2010.

The impact of antiretroviral treatment on mortality trends of HIV-positive adults in rural Uganda: a longitudinal population-based study, 1999-2009.

Objective: To investigate trends in all-cause adult mortality after the roll-out of an antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme in rural Uganda.

Methods: Longitudinal population-based cohort study of approximately 20,000 residents in rural Uganda. Mortality in adults aged 15-59 years was determined for the 5-year period (1999-2003) before introduction of ART in January 2004 and for the 5-year period afterwards.

Access to, and uptake of, antiretroviral therapy in a developing country with high HIV prevalence: a population-based cohort study in rural Uganda, 2004-2008.

Objectives: To investigate antiretroviral therapy (ART) uptake after its introduction in 2004 in a longitudinal population-based cohort and its nested clinical cohort in rural Uganda.

Methods: A HIV serosurvey of all adults aged ≥ 15 years is conducted annually. Two intervals were selected for analysis.

Low drug resistance levels among drug-naive individuals with recent HIV type 1 infection in a rural clinical cohort in southwestern Uganda.

To investigate the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) among individuals with recent HIV-1 infection between February 2004 and January 2010 in a rural clinical cohort, samples from 72 participants were analyzed. Results from the 72 participants showed no protease inhibitor and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-associated mutations. One participant (1.

Effect of pregnancy on immunological and virological outcomes of women on ART: a prospective cohort study in rural Uganda, 2004-2009.

Objectives: Before antiretroviral therapy (ART) introduction, pregnancy was associated with a sustained drop in CD4 cell count in HIV-infected women. We examined the effects of pregnancy on immunological and virological ART outcomes.

Methods: Between January 2004 and March 2009, we studied HIV-infected women receiving ART in a prospective open cohort study in rural Uganda.

Using verbal autopsy to assess the prevalence of HIV infection among deaths in the ART period in rural Uganda: a prospective cohort study, 2006-2008.

Background: Verbal autopsy is important for detecting causes of death including HIV in areas with inadequate vital registration systems. Before antiretroviral therapy (ART) introduction, a verbal autopsy study in rural Uganda found that half of adult deaths assessed were in HIV-positive individuals. We used verbal autopsy to compare the proportion of HIV-positive adult deaths in the periods before and after ART introduction.