Abstract Introduction Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often complicated by disorders in multiple body systems, associated with higher mortality and morbidity. Young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) have an increased risk of multisystem chronic comorbidities. However, there are few data describing comorbidities associated with CKD among YPLHIV. Methods We conducted a case-control study in seven ART clinics in Kampala, Uganda. Cases were YPLHIV (aged 10-24 years) diagnosed with CKD and controls were those without CKD. We collected data on demographic and clinical factors: blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, anaemia, electrolytes, parathyroid hormone, and cognitive impairment. We summarized the demographic and clinical factors and used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for associations between CKD comorbidities, adjusted for age, sex and viral suppression. Results A total of 292 participants (96 cases and 196 controls) were recruited. Cases were mostly male (59.4% vs 36.5%), and younger (88.5% vs 46.4% aged <17 years) compared to controls. CKD was associated with having a detectable HIV viral load (OR=3.73; 95% CI 1.53-9.12) and proteinuria (aOR=4.19; 95% CI 2.28-7.72). CKD was also associated with low haematocrit, hypochloraemia, hyperphosphatemia, and high mean corpuscular volume. There was no evidence of an association of CKD with hypertension, anaemia, or stunting. Conclusion The pattern of comorbidities among YPLHIV with CKD is uncertain and difficulties may relate to difficulty determining true kidney function and normal ranges in this population. Further studies are needed to discern the pattern of CKD complications to improve management efforts and clinical outcomes.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Support for the PhD studies was provided by Fogarty International Centre, National Institutes of Health (grant #2D43TW009771-06) HIV and co-infections in Uganda. Esther Nasuuna, Doctoral Research Fellow, NIHR131273 is funded by the NIHR for this research project. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

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This study was approved by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) Research Ethics Committee with reference number GC/127/946, the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (reference number HS2578ES) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (reference 28797). Informed consent/assent was provided by all participants. Age-appropriate information about the study was provided prior to consent by the study nurses. All the participants aged more than 18 years provided a written informed consent. Those aged below 18 years (child) provided written assent and their caregivers provided a written informed consent. The studies were conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki.

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