Abstract
The study aimed at verifying the associated factors of self-perceived body changes in adults living with HIV in highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. This cross-sectional study was conducted among people living with HIV on HAART for at least three months. A standardized questionnaire was used for assessing self-perceived body changes. Associated factors relating to self-reported body changes in people living with HIV (PLHIV) were assessed with Student's t-test and chi-square test. In total, 507 patients were evaluated. The mean time since diagnosis was 6.6 years [standard deviation (SD) +/- 4.1], and the mean duration of HAART was 5.1 years (SD +/- 3.3). Self-perceived body changes were reported by 79.5% of the participants and were associated with viral load and duration of HAART. Fibre intake was lower among males who gained in abdominal fat (p=0.035). HAART-related body changes were reported by the large majority of the population and were associated with demographic and clinical variables.
Highlights
Brazil, being the most populated country in Latin America, holds one-third of all AIDS cases in the region
The tendency of reduction in mortality due to AIDS had been observed even before the appearance of the highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and this has been attributed to the prophylaxis and better clinical treatment of opportunistic infections
This study aimed at verifying the associated factors relating to self-reported body changes in people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving HAART in the city of São Paulo, Brazil
Summary
Brazil, being the most populated country in Latin America, holds one-third of all AIDS cases in the region. During 1980–June 2009, 544,846 cases of AIDS were noticed, corresponding to an incidence rate of 18.2 per 100,000 inhabitants [1]. 65.4% were men, and 34.6% were women. According to the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the number of infected people in the country varies from 600,000 to 890,000 [2]. São Paulo—the biggest city of Brazil—has the largest number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the country. The tendency of reduction in mortality due to AIDS had been observed even before the appearance of the highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and this has been attributed to the prophylaxis and better clinical treatment of opportunistic infections. With the use of protease inhibitors, this phenomenon was accentuated [3]
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