Nutritional Status and Virological Outcomes of Children HIV Positive Attending Anti-Retroviral Clinic at University College Hospital, Ibadan

Abstract

Malnutrition has been reported as a major factor contributing to the poor outcome of effective ART in HIV infection. This study aimed to describe the relationship between the nutritional status and virological outcome of the children attending the antiretroviral clinic at University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Nigeria. Among the 159 (55.3% males and 44.7% females) children studied, almost half (42.8%) were orphans and the majority 56.6% were aged 120 - 180 months old. More than half (74.2%) had achieved viral suppression and significant associations were observed between viral load and stunting as well as between CD4 count and the age of the children (P 0.05). The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 27.7%, 9.4%, and 13.6% respectively. These indices reinforce the need for nutrition education and the provision of food supplements to improve the nutritional status of children infected with HIV.