Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-13-2021
Publication Title
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI
10.3390/ijerph18105165
ISSN
1660-4601
Abstract
(1) Background: In resource-limited countries, patients with tuberculosis (TB)/HIV coinfection commonly face economic, sociocultural, and behavioral barriers to effective treatment. These barriers manifest from low treatment literacy, poverty, gender inequality, malnutrition, societal stigmas regarding HIV, and an absence of available care. It is critical for intervention programs to understand and assist in overcoming these barriers and any additional risks encountered by patients with TB/HIV coinfection. This study analyzes variation in TB/HIV coinfection and risks of negative outcomes among patients with TB/HIV coinfection compared to those without coinfection. (2) Methods: This quantitative study used data from 49,460 patients receiving ART from 241 HIV/AIDS clinics in Haut-Katanga and Kinshasa, two provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were performed. (3) Results: Significantly higher proportions of patients with TB/HIV coinfection were men (4.5%; women, 3.3%), were new patients (3.7%; transferred-in, 1.6%), resided in the Kinshasa province (4.0%; Haut-Katanga, 2.7%), and were in an urban health zone (3.9%) or semi-rural health zone (3.1%; rural, 1.2%). Logistic regression analysis showed that after controlling for demographic and clinical variables, TB/HIV coinfection increased the risk of death (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 2.26 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.94–2.64)) and LTFU (AOR, 2.06 (95% CI: 1.82–2.34)). TB/HIV coinfection decreased the odds of viral load suppression (AOR, 0.58 (95% CI: 0.46–0.74)). (4) Conclusions: TB/HIV coinfection raises the risk of negative outcomes such as death, LTFU, and lack of viral load suppression. Our findings can help HIV clinics in Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries to customize their interventions to improve HIV care and reduce care disparities among patients.
Recommended Citation
Shah, Gulzar H., Raimi Ewetola, Gina D. Etheredge, Lievain Maluantesa, Kristie C. Waterfield, Elodie Engetele, Apolinaire Kilundu.
2021.
"Risk Factors for TB/HIV Coinfection and Consequences for Patient Outcomes: Evidence from 241 Clinics in the Democratic Republic of Cong."
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (10): MDPI.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105165 pmid: 34068099
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/hpmb-facpubs/216
Included in
Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Health Policy Commons
Comments
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).