Nutritional Status and Individual Dietary Diversity Among Peoples Living With HIV

Abstract

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) progression is correlated with nutritional status and dietary diversity. At all phases of HIV, nutrition is a significant factor. The goal of this study was to assess the nutritional status and individual dietary diversity among people living with HIV in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between July 2020 and December 2020 included 338 HIV positive patients. All of the drop-in centers of CARE Bangladesh were chosen on purpose for this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to get the information. Descriptive statistics were used to introduce the background variables by frequency and percentage. The Chi-square test and bivariate logistic regression were used to measure the association. Results: According to the findings, only 3% of the 338 HIV patients in this study had low individual dietary diversity (IDS), while 82% had high IDDS and 16% had medium. All of the people we surveyed ate cereals and starchy roots, while the least consumed food was consumed organ meat (38.5%). According to the data, 22.5% of people were underweight, 6.5% were overweight, and 71% were in the normal range of weights. Nutritional nourishment were found to be statistically significant at age (p=0.011), education (p <0.001), Sex (p = 0.008), monthly income (p < 0.00), marital status (p <0.001), and family type (P =0.014). The probability of malnutrition was 1.32 times higher in the 31–40 age group than in the 18–30 age group. Conclusion: People living with HIV consume a wide variety of foods. The majority of the people who took part in the survey were of average weight and had a healthy nutritional status index. Even though non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government partnerships made things more accessible than before, some respondents were still underweight and malnourished.