Prevalence and factors associated with hyperglycemia among persons living with HIV/AIDS on dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy in Uganda.

Background: Dolutegravir-based (DTG) regimens are rapidly becoming the preferred first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in low and middle-income countries. However, there are rising concerns over the development of hyperglycemia and, in some cases, diabetes mellitus in patients switched to DTG.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with hyperglycemia among PLHIV receiving DTG-based ART at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital (KNRH), Uganda.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: The study was conducted in the inpatient wards and the infectious disease outpatient clinic of KNRH from May to July 2022. Participants aged ⩾18 years on a DTG-based ART regimen for at least 3 months were consecutively enrolled and interviewed using a research assistant administered questionnaire for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. HbA1c was measured using whole blood Architect Ci4100 (Abbott, Illinois, USA), with hyperglycemia defined using a cut-off of ⩾5.7% as per the Uganda Diabetes Association guidelines. Factors associated with hyperglycemia were examined through logistic regression, adjusting for pertinent confounders, in STATA 17. A significance level was set at  < 0.05.

Results: A total of 398 PLHIV with a median age of 40.5 years (IQR: 32-49) were enrolled. More than half were females (58.3%,  = 232) and the majority (90%) had a CD4 count above 200 cells/µL. About 16% had a family history of diabetes, 11.73% ( = 46) showed elevated blood pressure levels, and 16.7% ( = 64) had obesity. Hyperglycemia was present in 12.8% ( = 51), with 10.3% having pre-diabetes ( = 41) and 2.5% with diabetes mellitus ( = 10). At bivariate analysis, hyperglycemia was significantly associated with age >40 years ( < 0.001), herbal medicine use ( = 0.03), being widowed ( < 0.001), obesity ( = 0.042), hypertension ( = 0.002) and >3 since diagnosis with HIV ( = 0.030). At multivariable regression, only age >40 (AOR 2.55, 95% CI: 1.05-6.23,  = 0.039) and hypertension (AOR 2.93, 95% CI: 1.07-8.02,  = 0.036) remained significantly associated with hyperglycemia.

Conclusion: More than 1 in 10 patients on DTG-based ART in our study had hyperglycemia. We recommend regular monitoring of plasma glucose, especially for patients >40 years old and those with other comorbidities, before starting/switching to DTG regimens. Longitudinal studies are recommended to determine the underlying mechanisms of hyperglycemia in this population.