Epidemiological patterns of HIV/AIDS and diabetes in developing countries: a cluster analysis

HIV/AIDS and Noncommunicable diseases are the major public health threats of developing countries. Analysis of joint epidemiological patterns of these diseases will help in designing and implementing appropriate interventions to mitigate their impacts. Objectives: The overall aim of this study was to analyze Epidemiological patterns of HIV/AIDS and Diabetes in developing countries. Methods: Country level HIV/AIDS and Diabetes prevalence data at four time points, between 2000 and 2010, for 68 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern and South Eastern Asia were transformed and analyzed. Joint geographic and temporal trends were described using numerical and graphic summaries. The level of Covariation between HIV and Diabetes prevalence was measured by Pearson correlation. K-means cluster analysis was conducted after the appropriate number of clusters was determined using scree plot technique. Analysis of variance was used to identify factors that differentiate the clusters.