Associations between COVID-19 testing status, non-communicable diseases and HIV status among residents of sub-Saharan Africa during the first wave of the pandemic

Morenike O Folayan; Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga; Jorma I Virtanen; Maha El Tantawi; Giuliana Florencia Abeldaño; Anthonia Omotola Ishabiyi; Mohammed Jafer; Nuraldeen Maher Al-Khanati; Mir Faeq Ali Quadri; Muhammad Abrar Yousaf; Passent Ellakany; Ntombifuthi Nzimande; Eshrat Ara; Zumama Khalid; Folake Barakat Lawal; Joanne Lusher; Bamidele O Popoola; Ifeoma Idigbe; Abeedha Tu-Allah Khan; Martin Amogre Ayanore; Balgis Gaffar; Bamidele Emmanuel Osamika; Nourhan M Aly; Nicaise Ndembi; Annie Lu Nguyen

doi:10.1186/s12879-022-07498-w

Associations between COVID-19 testing status, non-communicable diseases and HIV status among residents of sub-Saharan Africa during the first wave of the pandemic

BMC Infect Dis. 2022 Jun 13;22(1):535. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07498-w.

Authors

Morenike O Folayan^{1

2}, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga^{3

4}, Jorma I Virtanen^{3

5}, Maha El Tantawi^{3

6}, Giuliana Florencia Abeldaño^{3

7}, Anthonia Omotola Ishabiyi^{3

8}, Mohammed Jafer^{3

9

10}, Nuraldeen Maher Al-Khanati^{3

11}, Mir Faeq Ali Quadri^{3

12}, Muhammad Abrar Yousaf^{3

13}, Passent Ellakany^{3

14}, Ntombifuthi Nzimande^{3

15}, Eshrat Ara^{3

16}, Zumama Khalid^{3

17}, Folake Barakat Lawal^{3

18}, Joanne Lusher^{3

19}, Bamidele O Popoola^{3

20}, Ifeoma Idigbe^{3

21}, Abeedha Tu-Allah Khan^{3

22}, Martin Amogre Ayanore^{3

23}, Balgis Gaffar^{3

24}, Bamidele Emmanuel Osamika^{3

25}, Nourhan M Aly^{3

6}, Nicaise Ndembi^{3

26}, Annie Lu Nguyen^{3

27}

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health and Wellness Study Group, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. toyinukpong@yahoo.co.uk.
² Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. toyinukpong@yahoo.co.uk.
³ Mental Health and Wellness Study Group, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
⁴ Postgraduate Department, University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
⁶ Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21527, Egypt.
⁷ School of Medicine, University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico.
⁸ Centre for Rural Health, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
⁹ Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Health Promotion, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
¹¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Syrian Private University, Damascus, Syria.
¹² Dental Public Health, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Biology, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore, Pakistan.
¹⁴ Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulraman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ Department of Economic and Social Geography, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6722, Szeged, Hungary.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, Government College for Women, Moulana Azad Road, Srinagar, Kashmir (J&K), India.
¹⁷ Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
¹⁸ Department of Periodontology and Community Dentistry, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
¹⁹ Regent's University London, London, UK.
²⁰ Department of Child Oral Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
²¹ Clinical Sciences Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria.
²² School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, New Campus, Lahore, 54590, Punjab, Pakistan.
²³ Department of Health Policy Planning and Management, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
²⁴ Preventive Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
²⁵ Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
²⁶ Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, African Union Commission, Roosevelt Street, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
²⁷ Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Abstract

Background: This study determined if non-communicable disease status, HIV status, COVID-19 status and co-habiting were associated with COVID-19 test status in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: Data of 5945 respondents age 18-years-old and above from 31 countries in sub-Saharan Africa collected through an online survey conducted between June and December 2020, were extracted. The dependent variable was COVID-19 status (testing positive for COVID-19 and having symptoms of COVID-19 but not getting tested). The independent variables were non-communicable disease status (hypertension, diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, respiratory conditions, depression), HIV positive status, COVID-19 status (knowing a close friend who tested positive for COVID-19 and someone who died from COVID-19) and co-habiting (yes/no). Two binary logistic regression models developed to determine associations between the dependent and independent variables were adjusted for age, sex, employment, sub region and educational status.

Results: Having a close friend who tested positive for COVID-19 (AOR:6.747), knowing someone who died from COVID-19 infection (AOR:1.732), and living with other people (AOR:1.512) were significantly associated with higher odds of testing positive for COVID-19 infection, while living with HIV was associated with significantly lower odds of testing positive for COVID-19 infection (AOR:0.284). Also, respondents with respiratory conditions (AOR:2.487), self-reported depression (AOR:1.901), those who had a close friend who tested positive for COVID-19 infection (AOR:2.562) and who knew someone who died from COVID-19 infection (AOR:1.811) had significantly higher odds of having symptoms of COVID-19 infection but not getting tested.

Conclusion: Non-communicable diseases seem not to increase the risk for COVID-19 positive test while cohabiting seems to reduce this risk. The likelihood that those who know someone who tested positive to or who died from COVID-19 not getting tested when symptomatic suggests there is poor contact tracing in the region. People with respiratory conditions and depression need support to get tested for COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 testing; Depression; HIV; Respiration disorder.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19* / diagnosis
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
HIV Infections* / diagnosis
HIV Infections* / epidemiology
Humans
Noncommunicable Diseases* / epidemiology
Pandemics

Grants and funding

K01 AG064986/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States