Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity and the Overlap of Comorbidities in HIV+ Hispanics Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading health threat for HIV+ patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART); cardiometabolic comorbidities are key predictors of risk. Data are limited on incidence of metabolic comorbidities in HIV+ individuals initiating ART in low and middle income countries (LMICs), particularly for Hispanics. We examined incidence of diabetes and obesity in a prospective cohort of those initiating ART in the Dominican Republic. METHODS: Participants ≥18 years, initiating ART <90 days prior to study enrollment, were examined for incidence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), diabetes mellitus (DM), overweight, and obesity. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 100-125mg/dl defined IFG; FPG ≥126 mg/dl, diagnosis per medical record, or use of hypoglycemic medication defined DM. Overweight and obesity were BMI 25-30 and ≥30kg/m2, respectively. Dyslipidemia was total cholesterol ≥240mg/dl or use of lipid-lowering medication. Framingham risk equation was used to determine ten-year CVD risk at the end of observation. RESULTS: Of 153 initiating ART, 8 (6%) had DM and 23 (16%) had IFG at baseline, 6 developed DM (28/1000 person-years follow up [PYFU]) and 46 developed IFG (329/1000 PYFU). At baseline, 24 (18%) were obese and 36 (27%) were overweight, 15 became obese (69/1000 PYFU) and 22 became overweight (163/1000 PYFU). Median observation periods for the diabetes and obesity analyses were 23.5 months and 24.3 months, respectively. Increased CVD risk (≥10% 10-year Framingham risk score) was present for 13% of the cohort; 79% of the cohort had ≥1 cardiometabolic comorbidity, 48% had ≥2, and 13% had all three. CONCLUSIONS: In this Hispanic cohort in an LMIC, incidences of IFG/DM and overweight/obesity were similar to or higher than that found in high income countries, and cardiometabolic disorders affected three-quarters of those initiating ART. Care models incorporating cardiovascular risk reduction into HIV treatment programs are needed to prevent CVD-associated mortality in this vulnerable population.

Transmitted drug resistance among antiretroviral-naive patients with established HIV type 1 infection in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and review of the Latin American and Caribbean literature.

Emergence of HIV resistance is a concerning consequence of global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART). To date, there is no published information about HIV resistance from the Dominican Republic. The study's aim was to determine the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) to reverse transcriptase and protease inhibitors in a sample of chronically HIV-1-infected patients in one clinic in Santo Domingo. The data are presented in the context of a review of the TDR literature from Latin America and the Caribbean. Genotype testing was successfully performed on 103 treatment-naive adults planning to initiate antiretroviral therapy; the World Health Organization (WHO) list of surveillance drug resistance mutations (SDRM) was used to determine the presence of TDR mutations. WHO SDRM were identified in eight patients (7.8%); none had received sdNVP. There were no significant differences in epidemiologic or clinical variables between those with or without WHO SDRM. The prevalence of WHO SDRM was 1.0% and 6.8% for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, respectively. No WHO SDRMs for protease inhibitors were identified. Among 12 studies of TDR in the region with a sample size of at least 100 subjects, the reported prevalence of SDRM ranged from 2.8% to 8.1%. The most commonly identified SDRM was K103N. This information adds to our understanding of the epidemiology of TDR in the region and the possible role such mutations could play in undermining first-line treatment. Ongoing surveillance is clearly needed to better understand the TDR phenomenon in the Caribbean.