The number of people being diagnosed with HIV has dramatically decreased in the past decade, however, HIV still affects more than 1.2 million people in the U.S. Another disease that is of serious health concern in the country is diabetes. The condition affects more than 29 million people and another 86 million have prediabetes in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A new research had linked the two conditions and suggests that adults with HIV are prone to develop diabetes. The risk factors for diabetes are currently listed as obesity, lack of physical activity, having a family history of diabetes and being 45 years old or above. New research, however, has amended the risk factors to include HIV. The results of the research were published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care although the link is widely contested within the medical community.
Dr. Alfonso Hernandez-Romieu from the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta GA had set out to study the prevalence of diabetes in people who are positive with HIV. The study revealed that diabetes was found in 10.3 percent of those with HIV and receiving medical care as compared to 8.3 percent of the general population.
Results revealed that 1 in 10 adults with HIV also had diabetes with half having type 2 diabetes. After adjusting the variables of the study, prevalence rate for diabetes was 3.8 percent higher among HIV-infected people than the general population although the authors of the study cautioned that the study was purely observational so no conclusions can be drawn regarding cause and effect as reported by Medical News Today.
In people with HIV, the risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in people who have also infected with hepatitis C. Also, some HIV medicines such as protease inhibitors and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor drug classes may increase blood sugar levels and can lead to type 2 diabetes. These type of drugs makes it harder for the body to use and respond to insulin as reported by AIDSinfo.
