Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract NACNDC/19JASH002 (Poster A47) | Published: 17 Nov 2025
Timothy Otaala1,2,&, Bonniface Oryokot2, Baker Bakashaba2, Saadick Mugerwa Ssentongo2, Ronald Opito2
1Department of Public and Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, Uganda, 2Directorate of Programs, Planning and Management, AIDS Information Centre, Kampala, Uganda
&Corresponding author: Timothy Otaala, Department of Public and Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, Uganda. Email: otaalatimothy@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0666-7234
Received: 18 Aug 2025, Accepted: 20 Oct 2025, Published: 17 Nov 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Hypertension, Diabetes, COVID-19 severity, Clinical outcomes
©Timothy Otaala et al Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Timothy Otaala et al COVID-19 severity and clinical outcomes among HIV-positive patients with diabetes and hypertension: A retrospective study at Soroti and Mbale Hospitals, Uganda. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc6):00002. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO6-00002
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now a public health emergency in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with 85% premature deaths from NCDs. People living with HIV (PLHIV) have a high prevalence of NCDs including hypertension, Diabetes, and obesity, due to the effects of ongoing inflammation, progressive immune dysfunction, long-term infection by the virus and exposure to antiretroviral drug toxicities. This study sought to determine the prevalence and outcomes of NCDs and co-morbidities among HIV and COVID-19 co-infected patients in two large referral hospitals.
We conducted a retrospective study at Mbale and Soroti Hospitals using records of patients who were HIV positive and contracted COVID-19 virus from March 2020 to December 2021. The variables captured included socio-demographics, namely age, sex, the laboratory test, Diabetes, hypertension, and Clinical Outcomes. Data was captured using the Kobo Collect toolbox, downloaded in Microsoft Excel and exported to STATA version 14.0 for final analysis. Descriptive statistics were summarised as frequencies and proportions, while contingency and comparisons were done at the bivariate analysis.
From 100 patient records, 38%(n=38) were aged 40-50 years and 62%(n=62) were females. Most patients (6 in 10) were peasants, with 79% (n=79) having low-income levels. In addition, 30.53% (n=29) of the patients had hypertension, and 25.84% (n=23) had diabetes. Also, 10 out of 34 (29%) patients with diabetes and hypertension died, while 50% (n=17 out of 34) patients with both hypertension and diabetes had a long hospital stay. Hypertension and Diabetes were associated with Severe COVID-19 (P <0.0001)
This study found a high prevalence of hypertension and diabetes among participants, and both were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes. These findings highlight a dire need for screening, early identification, and effective management of NCDs among PLHIV. Health workers should prioritise comprehensive care approaches that address infectious and non-communicable diseases among PLHIV.
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