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NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION AMONG HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN ENROLLED IN

Gladys N L Lomotey1,2, Bamenla Q Goka2, Lorna A Renner2

  • 1Department of Child Health, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

West African Journal of Medicine
|December 8, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Malnutrition is common in children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on antiretroviral therapy. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in these children is linked to oral thrush, indicating a need for targeted interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Nutritional Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Malnutrition is a significant challenge for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected children, even with antiretroviral therapy (ART), impacting disease progression and survival.
  • Assessing nutritional status and identifying risk factors for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is crucial for this vulnerable population.

Framework:

  • A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Paediatric HIV Clinic, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra.
  • The study involved 150 children aged 15 to 179 months, systematically recruited between October 2018 and January 2019.

Implementation:

  • Data collection included structured interviews, physical examinations with anthropometric measurements, hospital record extraction, and laboratory investigations.
  • Nutritional status was assessed using weight-for-age, weight-for-length/height, length/height-for-age, BMI Z-scores, and mid-upper arm circumference-for-age.
  • Logistic regression models analyzed the association between nutritional status and socio-demographic, clinical, and HIV-related characteristics.

Implications:

  • The study found a prevalence of SAM at 4.0%, moderate acute malnutrition at 13.4%, and stunting at 18.1% among HIV-infected children.
  • Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) was significantly associated with the presence of oral thrush in the adjusted analysis.
  • These findings highlight the persistent burden of malnutrition in HIV-infected children on ART and underscore the importance of addressing opportunistic infections like oral thrush.
Abstract

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