Prevalence of metabolic syndrome, discrete or comorbid diabetes and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa among people living with HIV versus HIV-negative populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic disorder and high blood pressure are common complications globally, and specifically among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and their related complications. However, the burden of metabolic syndrome, discrete or comorbid diabetes and hypertension in PLHIV compared with HIV-negative population has not been quantified. This review and meta-analysis aims to compare and analyse the prevalence of these trio conditions between HIV-negative and HIV-positive populations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement guides the methods for this study. Eligibility criteria will be published original articles (English and French language) from SSA that present the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, discrete and/or comorbid diabetes, and hypertension comparisons between PLHIV and HIV-negative populations. The following databases will be searched from January 1990 to February 2017: PubMed/Medline, EBSCOhost, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, African Index Medicus and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Eligibility screening and data extraction will be conducted independently by two reviewers, and disagreements resolved by an independent reviewer. Methodological quality and risk of bias will be assessed for individual included studies, while meta-analysis will be used to estimate study outcomes prevalence according to subgroups. Sensitivity analysis will also be performed to further test the robustness of the findings.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This proposed study does not require ethical approval. The results will be published as a scientific article in a peer-reviewed journal, and presented at conferences and to relevant health agencies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO registration number (CRD42016045727).