Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of alcohol use disorders among HIV patients

Abstract

The rate of alcohol consumption is high among individuals living with HIV. The combination of hazardous alcohol drinking and HIV is deleterious to the health of the individual and the general public. Therefore, this study attempts to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in HIVinfected patients and to assess the socio-demographic factors associated with it. Across sectional descriptive study was conducted among 160 consecutive patients attending the infectious disease unit of the Plateau State Specialists Hospital Jos. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic variables and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess alcohol use disorders. The estimated prevalence of alcohol related problems was 39.4% with 28.8% harmful drinking and 10.6% hazardous drinking (alcohol abuse); 33.1% had started drinking before they were diagnosed with HIV and 6.3% after diagnosis. Male sex (p=0.000), poor education(p=0.000) and low income (p=0.002) were significantly associated with alcohol use disorders. The study revealed that alcohol use disorders are high among HIV infected patients who are males with low socio-economic status. We therefore recommend for screening and treating alcohol problems in HIV patients.

Key Words: Alcohol use disorders, socio-demographics, HIV/AIDS, harmful use