Fasting Blood Glucose Profile of Children Living with HIV taking First-Line Antiretroviral Treatment in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

 Introduction: Approximately 90% of children living with the human immunodeficiency virus are in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study determined the prevalence of dysglycaemia among children living with the human immunodeficiency virus taking first-line antiretroviral treatment. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for 6 months among the partici­pants aged from 2 to 15 years in a health center of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and measured the subjects’ fasting blood glucose us­ing the fructokinase method. Definitions of impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus were represented by a fasting blood glucose level between 100 to 125 mg/dl and ≥ 126 mg/dl, respectively. Results: Among the 195 children recruited, the mean age was 9±3.6 years with a male: female ratio of 1.19. The mean duration of the antiretroviral treatment was 47 months. Treatment regimens included protease inhibitor-based therapy in 4.1% of cases and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in combination with one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in the other cases. The mean blood glucose was 75.2 ±10.1 mg/dl. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 2.6% and none had diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: Dysglycaemia was seen in 2.6% of the children taking antiretroviral treatment. Monitoring fasting blood glucose levels in children living with the human immunodeficiency virus taking antiretroviral treatment is advocated for prompt diagnosis and early intervention in cases of pre-diabetes in order to prevent progression to diabetes.