Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) among Patients Co-infected with  COVID-19 and HIV at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), remains a significant global health challenge. People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may face an elevated risk of severe complications, particularly those with low CD4 counts, high viral loads, advanced clinical disease, or antiretroviral therapy (ART) non-adherence. Lockdown-related ART disruptions further compounded these risks. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) among HIV patients co-infected with COVID-19. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 423 participants. SARS-CoV-2 status was determined via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² (using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) without race coefficient) calculated using serum creatinine values obtained via Jaffe’s method and/or proteinuria ≥ + 1 identified through dipstick urinalysis persistent over three months. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21, Student’s t-tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical associations. Results The prevalence of COVID-19 infection was 13.5%. Notably, 56.6% of infected individuals had received two or more vaccine doses, and 73.5% were asymptomatic. The overall prevalence of CKD was 8.4%, with a higher proportion observed in females. Among HIV/COVID-19 co-infected patients, CKD prevalence was 1.5%. HIV viral suppression (p = 0.003) and proteinuria ≥ + 1 (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with CKD status. Conclusions The study indicates that COVID-19 co-infection does not result in a higher CKD among HIV patients compared to those without the virus. However, prolonged ART duration, gender, education level, and socio-occupational status were identified as significant risk factors. Additionally, the high infection rate of COVID-19 among the vaccinated participants suggests a need for further research into vaccine efficacy and the impact of various COVID-19 vaccines within this cohort.