Abstract:
Nutritional status is a significant predictor of survival rate in adult People Living
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). While public opinion assumes that PLWHA are prone to
malnutrition, there is very little documented data about their nutritional status,
dietary practices and clinical factors specifically in urban poor settings in Kenya.
This study considered the nutritional status, dietary practices and clinical factors of
adult PLWHA in an urban poor setting. The main objective was to determine the
nutritional status, dietary practices and clinical factors of adult PLWHA attending
Riruta Health Centre (H/C), Nairobi, Kenya. It was a cross sectional study conducted
at Riruta Health Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Systematic sampling of adult PLWHA
attending the clinic was used to select study participants. A semi-structured
questionnaire was pretested and used to collect data. A written informed consent was
sought and obtained prior to the interview. The study protocol was reviewed and
approved by the Kenyatta National Hospital/ University of Nairobi (KNH/UON)
Ethics Review Committee. Nutritional status was determined by Mid Upper Arm
Circumference (MUAC) and Body Mass Index (BMI). The results showed that the
mean age for the study participants was 36 ± 9 years. Seventy percent of them were
females among whom 60% were married. Fifty seven percent of PLWHA attending
Riruta Health Centre were unemployed. Majority (88.8%) of the study participants
were from Nairobi West District. Their diets were most frequently staples that were
predominantly carbohydrate rich foods. The diets were also limited in variety. The
study participants consumed very little animal protein source foods and fruits.
Overall, 25.8% of the study participants were undernourished. The proportion of
males who were undernourished (42.3%) was about two times that of the females
xv
(18.7%). The clinical factors that were independently associated with being
underweight were poor appetite (p = 0.0002, Crude Odds Ratio = 4.0885) and
occurrence of opportunistic infections (p = 0.0027, Crude Odds Ratio = 2.9308). In
conclusion, PLWHA attending Riruta Health Centre were mainly of low level
education with high level of unemployment. They also had poor dietary practices.
The prevalence of undernourishment among PLWHA was found to be 25.8 %.
Nutrition interventions for PLWHA should focus on regular nutrition and health
education, blending of locally available foods in the market to enrich their nutrient
value and food fortification with selected micronutrients so as to improve the
nutritional status of PLWHA.
