Browsing by Author "Ssentongo, Saadick Mugerwa"

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    Advanced HIV disease at diagnosis among newly diagnosed people with HIV in rural eastern Uganda: a retrospective cohort study
    (Elsevier, 2025-10-22) Ssentongo, Saadick Mugerwa; Appeli, Saidi; Izudi, Jonathan
    Objectives Advanced HIV disease (AHD) at diagnosis substantially contributes to HIV-related morbidity and mortality but has been understudied. We determined the prevalence and factors associated with AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed people with HIV (PWH) in rural eastern Uganda. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of newly diagnosed PWH between May 2020 and July 2023 across 23 public health facilities in 14 districts in rural eastern Uganda. AHD at diagnosis was defined by a cluster of differentiation 4 count <200 cells/µL or World Health Organization clinical stage 3-4 disease. A generalized linear mixed model was used to identify factors associated with AHD at diagnosis. Results Among 1233 participants, we found that 24/1233 (1.9%) had AHD at diagnosis. In adjusted analysis, AHD at diagnosis was independently associated with being male rather than female (adjusted odds ratio, 3.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-9.61). Conclusions The low prevalence of AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed PWH suggests progress toward earlier diagnosis in rural eastern Uganda. Men tended to present with AHD at diagnosis more than women, although the finding is imprecise. Our findings highlight the need for targeted, gender-sensitive interventions to promote early diagnosis and care linkage.
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    Advanced HIV disease at diagnosis among newly diagnosed people with HIV in rural eastern Uganda: a retrospective cohort study
    (Elsevier, 2025-10-04) Ssentongo, Saadick Mugerwa; Appeli, Saidi; Izudi, Jonathan
    Objectives Advanced HIV disease (AHD) at diagnosis substantially contributes to HIV-related morbidity and mortality but has been understudied. We determined the prevalence and factors associated with AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed people with HIV (PWH) in rural eastern Uganda. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of newly diagnosed PWH between May 2020 and July 2023 across 23 public health facilities in 14 districts in rural eastern Uganda. AHD at diagnosis was defined by a cluster of differentiation 4 count <200 cells/µL or World Health Organization clinical stage 3-4 disease. A generalized linear mixed model was used to identify factors associated with AHD at diagnosis. Results Among 1233 participants, we found that 24/1233 (1.9%) had AHD at diagnosis. In adjusted analysis, AHD at diagnosis was independently associated with being male rather than female (adjusted odds ratio, 3.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-9.61). Conclusions The low prevalence of AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed PWH suggests progress toward earlier diagnosis in rural eastern Uganda. Men tended to present with AHD at diagnosis more than women, although the finding is imprecise. Our findings highlight the need for targeted, gender-sensitive interventions to promote early diagnosis and care linkage.
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    Effect of facility- versus community-based HIV testing services on the diagnosis of advanced HIV disease in Uganda: a quasi-experimental study
    (Springer Nature, 2025-12-30) Izudi, Jonathan; Ssentongo, Saadick Mugerwa; Appeli, Saidi; Bajunirwe, Francis
    Background Advanced HIV disease (AHD) at first diagnosis remains a significant barrier to HIV epidemic control. We evaluated whether health facility-based or community-based HIV testing services (HTS) better impact the yield of AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed people with HIV (PWH) in rural eastern Uganda. Methods We designed a quasi-experimental study and applied instrumental variable analysis, a causal inference methodology, to compare the effect of facility-based HTS versus community-based HTS on the yield of AHD at diagnosis among newly diagnosed PWH. The exposure was HTS comparing community-based versus facility-based, and the outcome was AHD at diagnosis, defined as CD4 < 200 cells/µL or WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 disease at baseline. The instrumental variable was the HTS access radius that reflects the HTS geographical coverage for each health facility. The instrumental variable ensured the categorization of health facilities as offering HTS within a 5 km radius only or both within and beyond 5 km. The relevance of the instrumental variable was assessed using the F-statistic and independence from measured covariates. We used a two-stage residual inclusion approach to estimate the effect of HTS on AHD at diagnosis. Causal effect was reported as an odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Of 1,233 participants included in the analysis, AHD prevalence was 1.9% (24/1,233). The instrumental variable was strongly correlated with HTS (First-stage F-statistic = 28.05, p < 0.0001) and uncorrelated with AHD and all measured covariates. Facility-based HTS has no significant effect on AHD at diagnosis compared to community-based HTS (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.49–2.90). Conclusions Persons with AHD at diagnosis are a minority. Facility- and community-based HTS do not differ in identifying AHD among newly diagnosed PWH, but moderate effects cannot be excluded. These findings support efforts to implement both strategies for HIV testing to reach and test persons with advanced HIV.