Magnitude of Obesity/Overweight and Its Associated Factors Among HIV/AIDS Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in Jimma Zone Hospitals, South West Ethiopia: Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Getachew Yideg Yitbarek; Melaku Tadege Engidaw; Belete Achamyelew Ayele; Sofonyas Abebaw Tiruneh; Melkamu Tilahun Alamir

doi:10.2147/DMSO.S247221

Magnitude of Obesity/Overweight and Its Associated Factors Among HIV/AIDS Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in Jimma Zone Hospitals, South West Ethiopia: Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2020 Apr 21:13:1251-1258. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S247221. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Getachew Yideg Yitbarek¹, Melaku Tadege Engidaw², Belete Achamyelew Ayele³, Sofonyas Abebaw Tiruneh⁴, Melkamu Tilahun Alamir⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences (Medical Physiology), College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
² Department of Social and Public Health (Human Nutrition), College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
³ Wogeda Primary Hospital, Amhara Regional Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Social and Public Health (Epidemiology), College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Sciences (Medical Physiology), College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Purpose: Obesity is on the rise worldwide, not only in the general population but also in PLWHA. Being overweight and obese are themselves risk factors for cardiovascular and other diseases. Despite this, few studies have been conducted to determine the magnitude of obesity/overweight and its associated factors among HIV/AIDS patients in Ethiopia, which necessitates this study.

Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December to January 2019 at selected Jimma zone hospitals. WHO STEP-wise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance (STEPS) questionnaire and document review for HIV-related clinical factors was applied. Weight, height and waist circumference and hip circumference were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: A total of 252 participants with a response rate of 95.8% were included. The prevalence of obesity/overweight was 21%. After adjusting for these variables, age category of greater than 50 years [AOR = 0.4, 95% CI (0.2, 0.9), p = 0.03], WHO clinical stage III and above [AOR = 0.04, 95% CI (0.002, 0.6), p = 0.02], presence of mild to moderate physical activity [AOR = 1.3, 95% CI (5.5, 33.3), p ≤ 0.001)], plasma CD4 count between 351 and 500 copies/mL [AOR=0.15, 95% CI (0.04, 0.6) p=0.024], and female sex [AOR = 2.6, 95% CI (1.25, 10) p=0.03)] were significantly associated with obesity/overweight.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of obesity/overweight among HIV/AIDS patients. It was found that older age, female sex, early stage of the disease, lower CD4 count and presence of mild to moderate physical activity were significant predictors of obesity/overweight. Clinicians should be aware of the health consequence of obesity and consider instituting targeted weight management programs as a part of routine HIV care.

Keywords: Ethiopia; HIV/AIDS; associated factors; overweight.

Grants and funding

There was no funding available for this study.