HIV and diabetes

One possible, longer-term side-effect caused by HIV treatment used in the past is Type 2 diabetes. This is a condition that develops later in people’s lives when their body stops being able to control sugars (glucose). If not treated and managed properly, diabetes can cause serious illness and death.

A French study has found that there was an increase in people on HIV treatment developing diabetes between 1999 and 2000. But the number of new cases of diabetes has dropped sharply since then. Treatment with older anti-HIV drugs such as indinavir (Crixivan), d4T (stavudine, Zerit) and ddI (didanosine, Videx) was associated with the development of diabetes.

Other risk factors for developing diabetes identified in the study included older age, having a higher body mass index, and having more fat around the waist (these are also risk factors for people without HIV).

However, the study found no evidence that newer anti-HIV drugs, such as lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) and atazanavir (Reyataz), increased the risk of becoming diabetic. Once people stopped the drugs more likely to cause diabetes, their risk of developing the condition went down again.

The researchers recommended that people should be monitored to see if they are at risk of developing diabetes as part of their routine HIV care, especially because of the link between diabetes and heart (cardiovascular) disease