ArticleBMC women's health2022
"It's only fatness, it doesn't kill": a qualitative study on perceptions of weight gain from use of dolutegravir-based regimens in women living with HIV in Uganda.
Article in BMC women's health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integrated PrEP and STI Services for Transgender Women in Uganda: Qualitative Findings from a Randomized Trial.AIDS and behavior · 2025Trial
- Internalized Weight Bias Is Associated With Dysregulated Affect and Binge Eating in Daily Life Among Adults of High Body Weight With and Without HIV.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2026Article
- An Examination of African Immigrants With Overweight or Obesity: Weight, Lifestyle Behaviors, and Body Image Following Immigration.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Factors Associated With Incomplete Adherence to Dolutegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in Southwestern Uganda.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Stigma, depression and pillbox return among adults living with HIV in rural Tanzania: A prospective cohort study.HIV medicine · 2025Article
- Perceptions of body size and non-communicable disease risk among people with HIV in Nairobi, Kenya: an explanatory mixed-methods study.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Article
- Self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and their caregivers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India: a qualitative study.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2024Article
- Evidence gaps on weight gain in people living with HIV: a scoping review to define a research agenda.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Article
- HIV-1 Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors and Neurodevelopment.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Sociodemographic and Clinical Predictors of Weight Gain During the First Year of Antiretroviral Therapy among Adults Living With HIV in Urban Tanzania.Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS CareArticle
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDolutegravir (DTG)-based regimens have been recommended by the WHO as the preferred first-line and second-line HIV treatment in all populations. Evidence suggests an association with weight gain, particularly among black women. Our study investigated perceptions of weight gain from DTG-based regimen use on body image and adherence of antiretroviral therapy in women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Uganda.
methodsBetween April and June 2021, we conducted semi-structured interviews involving 25 WLHIV (adolescents, women of reproductive potential and post-menopausal women) and 19 healthcare professionals (clinicians, nurses, ART managers and counsellors) purposively selected from HIV clinics in Kampala. The interviews explored perceptions of body weight and image; experiences and management of weight related side effects associated with DTG; and knowledge and communication of DTG-related risks. Data was analysed thematically in NVivo 12 software.
resultsOur findings indicate WLHIV in Uganda commonly disliked thin body size and aspired to gain moderate to high level body weight to improve their body image, social standing and hide their sero-positive status. Both WLHIV and healthcare professionals widely associated weight gain with DTG use, although it was rarely perceived as an adverse event and was unlikely to be reported or to alter medication adherence. Clinical management and pharmacovigilance of DTG-related weight gain were hampered by the limited knowledge of WLHIV of the health risks of being over-weight and obesity; lack of diagnostic equipment and resources; and limited clinical guidance for managing weight gain and associated cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities.
conclusionsThe study highlights the significance of large body-size in promoting psychosocial wellbeing in WLHIV in Uganda. Although weight gain is recognized as a side effect of DTG, it may be welcomed by some WLHIV. Healthcare professionals should actively talk about and monitor for weight gain and occurrence of associated comorbidities to facilitate timely interventions. Improved supply of diagnostic equipment and support with sufficient guidance for managing weight gain for healthcare professionals in Uganda are recommended.
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