The use of Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy (HAART) to treat people with HIV/AIDS is said to be associated with an increased risk of diabetes and IGT.

Hence, the already burgeoning diabetes epidemic may be further fuelled by the HIV/AIDS epidemic through the chronic use of HAART.

HAART has been available to all Cameroonians with HIV/AIDS since 2007, but some HIV/AIDS patients have been on HAART for more than eleven years. It is estimated that 5.5% of the population have HIV/AIDS. In comparison, around 7% of the population have diabetes.

Approach

Given the influence of HAART on glucose tolerance and given that some patients might have a double burden of diabetes and HIV/AIDS, the Health of Populations in Transition Research Group seeks in this project to demonstrate the association between HIV/AIDS and the diabetes burden in Cameroon and to explore how to approach and integrate the prevention and care of these co-morbidities.

The core element of the project is a retrospective study of 5,000 HIV/AIDS patients drawn from two cohorts of HIV/AIDS patients in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé. The first cohort consists of 10,000 patients who are being followed by the Hôpital Central Yaoundé while the other cohort comprises 1,000 patients who regularly attend the University Teaching Centre Yaoundé.

The HIV/AIDS patients had their fasting plasma glucose measured at baseline i.e. at the commencement of HAART treatment and every six months thereafter. Plasma lipids, full blood counts, CD4 counts and liver and kidney function tests have also been carried out on a regular basis.

However, the data collected on plasma glucose and lipids have never been analysed. This task will be conducted during this project in order to assess the impact of chronic HAART treatment on incidence and prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glycaemia. It will also be possible to assess the association between the HIV viral load and diabetes as well as other cardiovascular risk factors.

The prevalence rate of diabetes found among the HIV/AIDS patients will then be compared with that found in the general population. The results of the analysis will serve as the basis for formulation of policy recommendations to be used in the country's AIDS clinics. Policy makers will be informed about the results of the survey, and the results will be used for advocacy purposes.

HIV/AIDS patients who are identified as having diabetes will be informed of their condition by a physician at their health facility and offered treatment.