Undernutrition and Associated Factors Among Seropositive Adults in ART Clinic Treatment Centre, Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Ethiopia is found with a high HIV epidemic. HIV/AIDS and malnourishment worsen one another from different perspectives. In Sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia despite remarkable efforts to reduce the problems, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition has remained the main challenges of health systems. Objective: To assess malnutrition and identify factors associated with undernutrition among adult patients attending HIV follow-up service at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital (HFSUH), Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia. Method: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 1 to December 30, 2016, among five hundred two respondents. The sample was selected by a simple random sampling method from the pre-ART and ART sample frame. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire through face to face interviews. We used descriptive statistics to describe the prevalence of malnutrition and mean, frequencies, and proportion of the variables. Factors associated with undernutrition were assessed by a logistic regression model using STATA 14. Result: The prevalence of undernutrition was 26.5% (95%CI: 24.5, 28.5) among HIV/AIDS patients. Being male (AOR 2.11, 95%CI: 1.34, 3.12), age group of 18-29 years (AOR 2.85, 95%CI: 1.48, 5.62), having an unemployed partner (AOR 2.31, 95%CI: 1.36, 3.75), opportunistic infection (AOR 2.94, 95%CI: 1.44, 6.03), and not attending HIV related dietary counseling session (AOR 3.22, 95%CI: 1.64, 6.31) were significantly associated with undernutrition. Conclusion: One-fourth of HIV/AIDS patients had undernutrition. Being male, younger age groups, having an unemployed partner, having opportunistic infection, and no dietary counseling were positively associated with undernutrition. All concerned bodies should have to give attention to these identified factors.