Category Archives: Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
Epidemiology of injecting drug use, prevalence of injecting-related harm, and exposure to behavioural and environmental risks among people who inject drugs: A systematic review
Background People who inject drugs are exposed to various and changing risk environments and are at risk of multiple harms related to injecting drug use (IDU). We aimed to undertake...
Selected inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers pre-viral suppression in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection without overt cardiovascular disease: Is there a need to redefine reference indices?
Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is prevalent in Africa and causes morbidity and mortality despite antiretroviral therapy (ART). Non-communicable complications of HIV infection include cardiovascular disease (CVD) with thromboses throughout the vascular tree....
Comparison of clinical manifestations in mpox patients living with HIV versus without HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: Currently, many cases of mpox patients living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been reported. Immunocompromised mpox patients including those living with HIV are noted for an increased...
Nutritional status and its determinants among adolescents with HIV on anti-retroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Purpose This review aimed to determine what methods are used to assess nutritional status, the levels of nutritional status, determinants of undernutrition, and nutritional interventions employed for adolescents with HIV...
Metabolic syndrome among people living with HIV in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART) can cause metabolic disorders such as lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, all of which are symptoms of metabolic syndrome (MetS)....
Contribution of low CD4 cell counts and high HIV viral load to the efficacy of preferred first-line antiretroviral regimens for treating HIV infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis
We assessed whether low CD4 count and high viral load (VL) affect the response to currently preferred ART. We performed a systematic review of randomized, controlled clinical trials that analyzed...
Scoping review of sexual and reproductive healthcare for men in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region: A handful of paradoxes?
BACKGROUND: No study appraised the knowledge gaps and factors impacting men’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The current scoping review undertook this task....
Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia: A review of management in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-HIV immunocompromised patients
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia is an opportunistic fungal infection that was mainly associated with pneumonia in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. There has been a decline in Pneumocystis...
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis use on a global scale among men who have sex with men: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Knowledge of the proportion of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) use among men who have sex with men (MSM) and the specific gaps in PrEP use can stimulate enhanced focus on HIV...
Prediction models for cardiovascular disease risk among people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: HIV continues to be a major global health issue. The relative risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among people living with HIV (PLWH) was 2.16 compared to non-HIV-infections. The prediction of...
Mapping the effectiveness of integrating mental health in HIV programs: A scoping review
INTRODUCTION: Mental health and substance abuse issues are increasing among HIV-positive people, and it negatively impacts health outcomes like engagement, retention in HIV care, and adherence to ART. Thus, national...
