Cross-sectional study shows that HIV and COVID-19 have higher inflammatory biomarkers compared to T2DM and PCOS, indicating differing metabolic effects.
This cross-sectional study compared inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers in four patient groups—HIV infection, acute COVID-19, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—attending Baze University Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria, between January and June 2025. A total of 200 adults (50 per group) were assessed for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). HIV and COVID-19 cohorts exhibited significantly higher hs-CRP (mean ± SD: 6.7 ± 2.4 mg/L and 8.3 ± 3.1 mg/L, respectively) and IL-6 (45.3 ± 15.2 pg/mL and 55.8 ± 18.4 pg/mL, respectively) compared with T2DM and PCOS (p < 0.001). In contrast, T2DM and PCOS groups had higher HOMA-IR values (4.5 ± 1.5 and 3.9 ± 1.4, respectively) than HIV and COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Moderate positive correlations were observed between IL-6 and HOMA-IR (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) and between hs-CRP and fasting glucose (r = 0.45, p < 0.001). These results indicate that while inflammatory activation predominates in HIV and COVID-19, metabolic dysregulation is more pronounced in T2DM and PCOS. The findings underscore the value of combined inflammatory-metabolic biomarker panels in guiding early detection, risk stratification, and integrated management of non-communicable and infectious disease comorbidities in Nigerian clinical practice.
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Egbewole et al. (2025) studied this question.
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