BackgroundThe level of sustained glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major determinant of the occurrence of both acute and chronic complications. However, information about the level of glycemic control among patients in the follow-up care at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital is scanty. The study assessed the degree of glycemic control and associated factors among diabetic patients in the study area.MethodA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital. All diabetic patients aged ≥18 years who visited the Diabetes Clinic in January and February 2013 for follow-up medical evaluation and medication participated in the study. Patients with glycosylated hemoglobin test (HbA1c) of ≥7% were classified as having a poor level of glycemic control. Propensity score was used to estimate the treatment effect. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the associated factors.ResultTwo hundred and fifty three (64.7%) of the 391 diabetic patients included in the study had a poor level of glycemic control, as evidenced by HbA1c ≥7%. Poor glycemic control was much higher among Type 1 patients (82.9%) compared with Type 2 patients (57.5%). Being on insulin treatment (AOR =2.51; 95% CI =1.25, 5.04) and reporting poor medication adherence (AOR =3.19; 95% CI =1.76, 5.80) were found to be associated with poor glycemic control among Type 2 DM patients. High waist circumference was inversely associated with a poor level of glycemic control in Type 1 DM patients (AOR =0.05; 95% CI =0.01, 0.85).ConclusionThe proportion of diabetic patients with a poor level of glycemic control is high. We recommend a comprehensive intervention to improve the overall treatment adherence with special attention to DM patients receiving insulin.

BackgroundAnemia is a major public health problem in HIV patients around the world. It has a negative effect on the quality of life of HIV patients and progression of the HIV disease. In the sub-Saharan African setting, including Ethiopia where both HIV infection and under-nutrition are expected to be high, there is a paucity of data on the matter. This study was aimed to reveal the magnitude and factors associated with anemia among adult HIV patients in Debre-Tabor Hospital, northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study was used among adult HIV patients in Debre-Tabor Hospital from April 1 to May 30, 2015. The diagnosis of anemia was made following the 2011 World Health Organization recommendation on hemoglobin cut-off points. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was carried out to assess factors associated with anemia.ResultsA total of 377 patients’ charts were reviewed. Most of the participants (n=237, 62.9%) were taking antiretroviral treatment (ART). The overall prevalence of anemia was 23% (95% CI: 19.1, 27.6). Being ART-naïve (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.59, 7.14), having treatment history with anti-tuberculosis (TB) drug (AOR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.19, 8.67), taking zidovudine (ZDV)-containing ART regimen (AOR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.03, 4.57), and having recent CD4+ T-lymphocytes count of <200 cells/μL (AOR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.04, 4.36) were associated with occurrence of anemia among adult HIV patients.Conclusion and recommendationAnemia continues to be a major co-morbidity among adult HIV patients in Ethiopia. Adult HIV patients who are taking ZDV-containing ART, with a history of TB treatment, have a low CD4+T-lymphocytes count and are ART-naïve should be carefully screened and treated for anemia.

ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and associated factors among HIV-infected adults in northwest Ethiopia.DesignHospital-based cross-sectional study.SettingHIV clinic of the University of Gondar Hospital, Ethiopia.ParticipantsAll HIV-infected adults who visited the HIV clinic from December 2013 to the end of February 2014 were the source population.MeasuresA structured and pretested questionnaire incorporating the WHO STEPwise approach was used. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to assess factors associated with DM.ResultsThe overall prevalence of type 2 DM was 8% (95% CI 5.5% to 10.5%). The prevalence of DM was higher (13.2%; 95% CI 8.0% to 18.3%) among subjects receiving pre-antiretroviral treatment (pre-ART) than among those taking ART (5.1%; 95% CI 2.6% to 7.6%). Thirteen (35.1%) of the DM cases were newly identified during the study. Obesity (adjusted OR (AOR) 6.55; 1.20 to 35.8), hypertension (AOR 3.45; 1.50 to 7.90), being in the pre-ART group (AOR 4.47; 1.80 to 11.08), hypertriglyceridaemia (AOR 2.24; 1.02 to 49.5) and tertiary-level education (AOR 11.8; 2.28 to 61.4) were associated with DM.ConclusionsOverall DM prevalence was high, particularly among subjects in the pre-ART group. More educated, hypertensive and obese HIV-infected adults were more likely to have DM as a comorbidity. Health policy and the clinical management of HIV-infected individuals should take into account the rising DM.

BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome measure among HIV infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). When HIV infected patients coinfected with Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) the problem become severe because VL accelerates HIV replication and disease progression. The impact of VL on the quality of life of HIV infected patients has not been studied. In this study in Ethiopia, we compared the quality of life of HIV infected patients with and without VL.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2015 to September 2016 in selected health centers and hospitals, in Northwest Ethiopia. Data on quality of life was collected by trained nurses. The instrument used to collect the data was the short Amharic version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life for HIV clients (WHOQoL-HIV). Depression was assessed using the validated version of Kessler scale. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate linear regression model was used to summarize the results.ResultsA total of 590 study participants were included in the study with response rate of 95%. Of the 590 patients included in our study 125 (21%) were HIV-VL coinfection. HIV-VL coinfected patients had a lower quality of life in all the domains as compared to HIV patients without VL. Depression was consistently and strongly associated with all the quality of life domains of both groups. Also, in HIV infected patients a longer duration in ART was associated with higher HRQoL domains except for the spiritual and level of independence domains. With regard to HIV-VL coinfected patients, a longer duration in ART was associated with psychological, spiritual and level of independence domains of HRQoL. Demographics, clinical, and treatment characteristics resulted few significant associations with HRQoL domains of both groups.ConclusionHIV-VL coinfected patients had a poor quality of life in all the domains of the WHOQoL-HIV instrument. Depression, duration of ART and education were strongly associated with the quality of life. Depression should be targeted for intervention to improve the quality of life.

BackgroundAccording to a report on the worldwide trends in blood pressure from 1975 to 2015, mean blood pressure is increasing in low and middle income countries while it is either decreasing or stabilizing in high income countries. Few studies have been published on the prevalence of hypertension in Ethiopia demonstrating an increased trend; however, these studies had small sample size and were limited to participants older than 35 years; which left the burden among adolescents and young adults unaddressed. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of hypertension (HTN) and associated factors in Gondar city.MethodA population based cross-sectional study was conducted among 3227 individuals in Gondar city. A multistage cluster random sampling was used. The Kish method from World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS instrument of random sampling method was used for selecting one individual older than or equal to 18 years from each household. WHO and International Diabetic Association (IDA) criterion was used to classify HTN.ResultThe overall prevalence of HTN was 27. 4% [95% CI: (25. 8–28.9)]. The prevalence for participants in the age group of ≥35 years was 36. 1%. It consistently increased from 9.5% in the age group of 18–25 years to 46.3% in the age group of ≥65 years (P-value < 0. 001). Only 47% of the participants had ever had any kind of blood pressure measurement. Being elderly (AOR = 5. 56; 95% CI: 3. 71–8. 35), obese (AOR =2. 62; 95%CI: 1. 70–4. 03), widowed (AOR = 1. 87; 95%CI: 1. 27–2. 75), separated (AOR = 1. 87; 95%CI: 1. 27–2. 75), daily alcohol user (AOR = 1. 51; 95%CI: 1. 02–2. 23), male gender (AOR = 1. 42; 95%CI: 1. 18–1. 72) and born in urban area (AOR = 1. 31; 95%CI: 1. 10–1. 56) were found to be independently associated with HTN.ConclusionThere is a high prevalence of hypertension in Gondar city and is showing increasing trend compared to previous reports. Interventions to raise awareness and to improve both capacity and accessibility of facilities for screening hypertension are highly recommended.