Nutritional status and associated factors among adults living with HIV-AIDS attending care and treatment clinics in Ilala District , Dar es Salaam

Food and nutrition interventions are critical components of a full response to the HIV / AIDS pandemic which is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, the region where malnutrition is already endemic. In recent years clinical care providers, program managers and other stakeholders increasingly recognize the critical importance of nutrition for the treatment of HIV and AIDS, but the interventions that link nutritional support to treatment are relatively new. Tanzania is one of the countries that suffer a huge burden of malnutrition and food poverty with approximately 2.2 million people living with HIV / AIDS. Despite the ongoing nutritional interventions provided in care and treatment clinics to people living with HIV / AIDS, a high proportion of these people still face nutritional problems with almost 29% of them being underweight. A cross sectional study was therefore conducted in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam region to determine factors associated with nutritional status among adults living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) attending care and treatment clinics (CTCs). A total of 412 adult patients attending care and treatment clinics in Ilala district were interviewed in this study. It was found that 18.4% of PL WHA were underweight basing on their body mass index; this prevalence was found to be equal to both males and females. However, those who were at younger age; never married; with no formal education; depended on family/friends for income and those residing in Kinondoni district were more at risk of being underweight. Statistical test showed that among the factors that had a significant association with the nutritional status of people living with HIV / AIDS were the kind of support that one was getting, living companion, alcohol drinking, duration of ART, and frequency of eating vegetable with meals. More efforts are required to advice, support and encourage PL WHA within social context of lives so that the current nutritional care and support services provided to them could give the best outcomes. Collaborative actions are required to solve this problem of poor nutrition among PL WHA