Social factors and lifestyle attributes associated with nutritional status of people living with HIV/AIDS attending care and treatment clinics in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Objective: Tanzania is one of the countries that suffer huge burden of malnutrition and food poverty with over two million people living with HIV/AIDS. Despite ongoing nutritional interventions in care and treatment clinics for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), a high proportion of them still face nutritional problems, with about 29% being underweight. This study therefore aimed assessing social factors and lifestyle attributes associated with nutritional status among adults living with HIV/AIDS and attending care and treatment clinics
(CTCs) in an urban district in Tanzania.
Methods: An interview schedule was administered to 412 randomly selected adult male and female clients attending different CTCs in Ilala district. Their anthropometric measurements i.e. body weights and heights were also taken.
Results: Findings revealed that 18.4% of males and females were underweight according to their body mass indices. The risk of being underweight was higher among respondents who were young; who had never married; had no formal education as well as those who reported to be living with their families or friends, although these associations were not statistically significant. On the other hand, factors which had statistically significant association with nutritional status included the type of persons the client was living with and the habit of
drinking alcohol.
Conclusion: From the findings we conclude that PLWHA attending Care and Treatment Clinics in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam have problems with their nutrition with underweight being common among them. This suggests that the existing care and treatment clinics that provide nutritional support to PLWHA do not appear to address these issues in their totality. There is therefore, need to ensure that more efforts are geared towards providing nutritional counseling, support and encouragement of these clients within social contexts of their lives
so in order for the current efforts to give best results.

Key words: HIV, nutritional status, body mass index