Prevalence of Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, and High Cholesterol Among Older People Living With HIV: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic comorbidities are significant health challenges for older people living with HIV (PLHIV). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize existing evidence and provide the pooled prevalence of metabolic comorbidities among older PLHIV worldwide. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar for English-language documents from 2013 to 25 December 2023. To identify unpublished documents for a grey literature review, we reached out to well-known experts in HIV and aging, asking them to provide and share unpublished records, and we searched the first 300 articles in Google Scholar. We included cross-sectional studies and baseline data from cohort studies to measure the prevalence of metabolic comorbidities, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. The pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) of metabolic comorbidities were estimated using random effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: Of the 915 articles recruited articles for full text, 26 studies (including 10 in developed countries) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Most of the studies were conducted in North America. The pooled prevalence of individual metabolic comorbidities was as follows: diabetes (20 articles) 13.5% (95% CI: 10.0, 17.4), high cholesterol (eight articles) 47.3% (95% CI: 36.3, 58.4), hypertension (22 articles) 40.7% (95% CI:30.2, 51.2), and obesity (10 articles) 26.1% (95% CI:20.3, 32.4). The results showed that the prevalence of all metabolic comorbidities was higher in North America. CONCLUSION: We found that metabolic comorbidities are a common condition among older PLHIV and represent a significant risk factor for various diseases. Policymakers should consider implementing practical interventions, including prevention strategies, periodic screenings, and lifestyle modifications focused on promoting a healthy diet and regular exercise to manage metabolic comorbidities in older PLHIV effectively. Most studies have been conducted in developed countries; there is a need for increased research efforts in other regions

• Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
  • Epidemiology
• Population(s)
  • Older adults (>50 years)
  • General HIV+ population
• Co-morbidities
  • Cardiovascular
  • Age related disorders
  • Other
• Health Systems
  • Governance arrangements