Epidemiology of Tuberculosis Among People Living With HIV in the African Cohort Study From 2013 to 2021

Abstract

Background: The prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is high among people living with HIV (PLWH) but is often underdiagnosed in HIV programmatic settings. Setting: President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)–supported research sites in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. Methods: All patients underwent molecular testing at entry into a longitudinal cohort of PLWH and annually thereafter. We assessed the prevalence and incidence of TB and identified clinical and demographic factors associated with prevalent and incident TB using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models. Results: From 21 January, 2013, to 1 December 2021, 3171 PLWH were enrolled with a TB prevalence of 3% (n = 93). Of the cases with prevalent TB, 66% (n = 61) were bacteriologically confirmed. The adjusted odds of prevalent TB were significantly higher among those with higher educational attainment, PLWH for 1–5 years since their HIV diagnosis, those who were underweight, and those with CD4 counts <200 cells/mm3. The overall TB incidence rate was 600 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI: 481–748). We found that shorter time since HIV diagnosis, being underweight, taking antiretroviral therapy <6 months, and having a CD4 count <200 cells/mm3 were significantly associated with incident TB. PLWH on dolutegravir/lamivudine/tenofovir had a 78% lower risk of incident TB compared with those on tenofovir/lamivudine/efavirenz (hazard ratio: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.08–0.63). Conclusion: The prevalence and incidence of TB was notably high in this cohort sourced from PEPFAR clinics. Aggressive efforts to enhance HIV diagnosis and optimize treatment in programmatic settings are warranted to reduce the risk of HIV-TB co-occurrence in this cohort.