Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
BMJ Glob Health. 18 October 2019; Volume 4 (Issue 5); e001855.; DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001855
Mbaye R, Gebeyehu R, Hossmann S, Mbarga NF, Bih-Neh E, et al.
BMJ Glob Health. 18 October 2019; Volume 4 (Issue 5); e001855.; DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001855
INTRODUCTION
Africa contributes little to the biomedical literature despite its high burden of infectious diseases. Global health research partnerships aimed at addressing Africa-endemic disease may be polarised. Therefore, we assessed the contribution of researchers in Africa to research on six infectious diseases.
METHODS
We reviewed publications on HIV and malaria (2013-2016), tuberculosis (2014-2016), salmonellosis, Ebola haemorrhagic fever and Buruli ulcer disease (1980-2016) conducted in Africa and indexed in the PubMed database using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. Papers reporting original research done in Africa with at least one laboratory test performed on biological samples were included. We studied African author proportion and placement per study type, disease, funding, study country and lingua franca.
RESULTS
We included 1182 of 2871 retrieved articles that met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 1109 (93.2%) had at least one Africa-based author, 552 (49.8%) had an African first author and 41.3% (n=458) an African last author. Papers on salmonellosis and tuberculosis had a higher proportion of African last authors (p<0.001) compared with the other diseases. Most of African first and last authors had an affiliation from an Anglophone country. HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and Ebola had the most extramurally funded studies (≥70%), but less than 10% of the acknowledged funding was from an African funder.
CONCLUSION
African researchers are under-represented in first and last authorship positions in papers published from research done in Africa. This calls for greater investment in capacity building and equitable research partnerships at every level of the global health community.
Africa contributes little to the biomedical literature despite its high burden of infectious diseases. Global health research partnerships aimed at addressing Africa-endemic disease may be polarised. Therefore, we assessed the contribution of researchers in Africa to research on six infectious diseases.
METHODS
We reviewed publications on HIV and malaria (2013-2016), tuberculosis (2014-2016), salmonellosis, Ebola haemorrhagic fever and Buruli ulcer disease (1980-2016) conducted in Africa and indexed in the PubMed database using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. Papers reporting original research done in Africa with at least one laboratory test performed on biological samples were included. We studied African author proportion and placement per study type, disease, funding, study country and lingua franca.
RESULTS
We included 1182 of 2871 retrieved articles that met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 1109 (93.2%) had at least one Africa-based author, 552 (49.8%) had an African first author and 41.3% (n=458) an African last author. Papers on salmonellosis and tuberculosis had a higher proportion of African last authors (p<0.001) compared with the other diseases. Most of African first and last authors had an affiliation from an Anglophone country. HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and Ebola had the most extramurally funded studies (≥70%), but less than 10% of the acknowledged funding was from an African funder.
CONCLUSION
African researchers are under-represented in first and last authorship positions in papers published from research done in Africa. This calls for greater investment in capacity building and equitable research partnerships at every level of the global health community.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Am Heart Assoc. 15 June 2021; Volume 10 (Issue 12); e019994.; DOI:10.1161/JAHA.120.019994
Siender M, Bibangambah P, Kim JH, Lankowski A, Chang JL, et al.
J Am Heart Assoc. 15 June 2021; Volume 10 (Issue 12); e019994.; DOI:10.1161/JAHA.120.019994
BACKGROUND
Although ≈70% of the world's population of people living with HIV resides in sub-Saharan Africa, there are minimal prospective data on the contributions of HIV infection to atherosclerosis in the region.
METHODS AND RESULTS
We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy >40 years of age in rural Uganda, along with population-based comparators not infected with HIV. We collected data on cardiovascular disease risk factors and carotid ultrasound measurements annually. We fitted linear mixed effects models, adjusted for cardiovascular disease risk factors, to estimate the association between HIV serostatus and progression of carotid intima media thickness (cIMT). We enrolled 155 people living with HIV and 154 individuals not infected with HIV and collected cIMT images at 1045 visits during a median of 4 annual visits per participant (interquartile range 3-4, range 1-5). Age (median 50.9 years) and sex (49% female) were similar by HIV serostatus. At enrollment, there was no difference in mean cIMT by HIV serostatus (0.665 versus 0.680 mm, P=0.15). In multivariable models, increasing age, blood pressure, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with greater cIMT (P<0.05), however change in cIMT per year was also no different by HIV serostatus (0.004 mm/year for HIV negative [95% CI, 0.001-0.007 mm], 0.006 mm/year for people living with HIV [95% CI, 0.003-0.008 mm], HIV×time interaction P=0.25).
CONCLUSIONS
In rural Uganda, treated HIV infection was not associated with faster cIMT progression. These results do not support classification of treated HIV infection as a risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis progression in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
REGISTRATION
https://www.ClinicalTrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02445079.
Although ≈70% of the world's population of people living with HIV resides in sub-Saharan Africa, there are minimal prospective data on the contributions of HIV infection to atherosclerosis in the region.
METHODS AND RESULTS
We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy >40 years of age in rural Uganda, along with population-based comparators not infected with HIV. We collected data on cardiovascular disease risk factors and carotid ultrasound measurements annually. We fitted linear mixed effects models, adjusted for cardiovascular disease risk factors, to estimate the association between HIV serostatus and progression of carotid intima media thickness (cIMT). We enrolled 155 people living with HIV and 154 individuals not infected with HIV and collected cIMT images at 1045 visits during a median of 4 annual visits per participant (interquartile range 3-4, range 1-5). Age (median 50.9 years) and sex (49% female) were similar by HIV serostatus. At enrollment, there was no difference in mean cIMT by HIV serostatus (0.665 versus 0.680 mm, P=0.15). In multivariable models, increasing age, blood pressure, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with greater cIMT (P<0.05), however change in cIMT per year was also no different by HIV serostatus (0.004 mm/year for HIV negative [95% CI, 0.001-0.007 mm], 0.006 mm/year for people living with HIV [95% CI, 0.003-0.008 mm], HIV×time interaction P=0.25).
CONCLUSIONS
In rural Uganda, treated HIV infection was not associated with faster cIMT progression. These results do not support classification of treated HIV infection as a risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis progression in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
REGISTRATION
https://www.ClinicalTrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02445079.