Microalbuminuria among HIV/AIDS patients in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Background
Over the past decade, the incidence of chronic kidney disease among HIV-seropositive people has increased at an alarming rate. Microalbuminuria is believed to be a precursor of HIV-related renal disease; early detection with intervention may prevent end-stage renal disease. Therefore, the current study was aimed at determining the pooled prevalence of microalbuminuria among HIV patients in Africa.
Methods
We accessed Google Scholar, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and ResearchGate to get the original research articles. We employed the I² and Cochran’s Q test to assess the presence of heterogeneity between studies. Publication bias was checked by using a funnel plot and Egger’s regression test. The pooled prevalence was estimated using the random-effects model. We ran the sensitivity analysis to see if there were outlier results in the included studies. Moreover, subgroup analysis was also done.
Results
The current meta-analysis includes 16 studies with 3588 individuals. In Africa, the overall pooled prevalence of microalbuminuria in both adults and children was 22.25% (95% CI 17.38–27.13; I2 = 92.6). Microalbuminuria was observed to be 23.32% (95% CI: 17.36–29.29) in adult study groups and 20.72% (95% CI: 11.85–29.56) in children. Female HIV/AIDS patients exhibited a higher pooled prevalence of microalbuminuria (22.68% (95% CI: 7.43–37.94)) than male HIV/AIDS patients (15.84% (95% CI: 7.28–24.39)). Furthermore, the overall estimates of microalbuminuria among ART users and non-users were 22.32% (95% CI: 13.00–31.63) and 19.41% (95% CI: 14.88–23.94), respectively.
Conclusion
The present review study found that over one-fourth of HIV-infected patients had microalbuminuria, indicating a considerable burden of subclinical kidney disease. Therefore, HIV patients need to be screened early for microalbuminuria to prevent further renal complications.
Authors
Mohammed O, Debash H, Belete MA, Gedefie A, Tilahun M, Mulatie Z, Eshetu B, Tekele SG, Ebrahim H, Weldehanna DG, Shibabaw A, Alemayehu E
Year
2025
Topics
- Epidemiology and Determinants of Health
- Epidemiology
- Population(s)
- General HIV+ population
- Co-morbidities
- Other
- Health Systems
- Governance arrangements
