HIV drug linked to increased risk of high BP: Study

People with HIV taking the dolutegravir (DTG) drug could be at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a study. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2019, formally recommended the drug dolutegravir (DTG) as the preferred antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), citing that it is more effective and tolerable, less costly, and less prone to developing drug resistance than the previously recommended first-line treatment efavirenz (EFV). Since then, several clinical trials have shown that DTG is associated with substantial weight gain among people taking it, compared to people who take EFV. Now a new study, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, has confirmed these findings about DTG and weight gain, and it also found that people living with HIV who take DTG may also have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. The team matched 794 patients who switched from DTG TO EFV, to 794 patients who remained on EFV.