An assessment of the nutritional status of ART receiving HIV-orphaned and vulnerable children in South-West Nigeria

Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe,Ayo Stephen Adebowale,Ikeoluwapo Ajayi

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02925

Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe, Ayo Stephen Adebowale + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02925

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Journal: Heliyon	Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019
Citations: 6	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Ibadan

Abstract

IntroductionGood nutritional status is pertinent to the optimal outcome of effective ART among children. Against this backdrop, the objective of the current study is to assess the nutritional indices of children receiving ART in South-West Nigeria. MethodsThe study was cross-sectional in design. We randomly selected three urban and six rural ART sites from the ones offering ART services in Oyo state. All consented children receiving ART treatments in the aforementioned sites participated in the study. A total of 390 HIV-positive children and adolescents aged 6–18 years were interviewed using a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Children were assessed and growth curves were constructed using the 2007 World Health Organisation (WHO) growth reference standard for children as well as adolescents. Data were presented using descriptive statistics. ResultsAbout 52% of the children are male, 136 (34.9%) have lost at least one parent, 52 (13.3%) have lost either parent to HIV/AIDS. Among the males, 19%, 27%, and 27% were underweight, stunted and thin, respectively when compared with 17%, 23% and 23%, respectively, among females. The male and female weight-for-age average z-score were (-0.98 vs -1.04), height-for-age (-1.12 vs -1.07), and BMI-for-age (-1.19 vs -1.18). Irrespective of age, sex, parental survival, and residence, weight-for-age and BMI-for-age analysis revealed substantial underweight, with the worst outcomes being among those orphaned by HIV/AIDS. ConclusionAll nutritional indices considered in this study fell short of the WHO standard. HIV positive children in the ART sites included in this study are faced with a high burden of undernourishment despite been placed on daily ART regimens. In addition to efficient ART, interventions to ameliorate poor nutritional status is needed.

Highlights

Good nutritional status is pertinent to the optimal outcome of effective Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) among children
The levels of thinness, stunting, and underweight found in the current study were found to be higher than those found in the general population across Nigeria (National Population Commission (Nigeria) and ICF International., 2014), but lower than 36.6% stunting and 22.1% underweight found among HIV positive children that were receiving ART in Ethiopia (Sunguya et al, 2011)
Our results demonstrated that children who lost one or both parents owing to HIV/AIDS were more predisposed to underweight, thinness, and stunting

Summary

Introduction

Good nutritional status is pertinent to the optimal outcome of effective ART among children. Against this backdrop, the objective of the current study is to assess the nutritional indices of children receiving ART in South-West Nigeria. All consented children receiving ART treatments in the aforementioned sites participated in the study. HIV positive children in the ART sites included in this study are faced with a high burden of undernourishment despite been placed on daily ART regimens. About 37 million people were living with HIV in 2017, of which 1.8 million were accounted for by children aged 15 years or younger (UNAIDS, 2018b). The western and central Africa sub-regions hosted for 6.1 million people living with HIV (PLHIV).

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