TITLE:
Nutritional Status and Virological Outcomes of Children HIV Positive Attending Anti-Retroviral Clinic at University College Hospital, Ibadan
AUTHORS:
Chiamaka Okafor, Grace Fadupin, Regina Oladokun
KEYWORDS:
Dietary Pattern, Nutritional Status, HIV, Children, Nutrient Intake
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
26,
2021
ABSTRACT: Malnutrition has been reported as a
major factor contributing to the poor outcome of effective ART in HIV
infection. This study aimed to describe the relationship
between the nutritional status and virological outcome of the children attending
the antiretroviral clinic at University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Nigeria.
Among the 159 (55.3% males and 44.7% females) children studied, almost half
(42.8%) were orphans and the majority 56.6% were aged 120 - 180 months old. More than half (74.2%) had achieved viral suppression and
significant associations were observed between viral load and stunting as well
as between CD4 count and the age of the children (P 0.05). The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 27.7%,
9.4%, and 13.6% respectively. These indices reinforce the need for nutrition
education and the provision of food supplements to improve the nutritional
status of children infected with HIV.