HIV status and sociodemographic correlates of maternal body size and wasting during pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: To examine HIV status and sociodemographic variables as correlates of body size (height, body mass index (BMI), and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC)) and wasting (MUAC < 22 cm) in pregnant women. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Four antenatal clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Subjects: Women presenting for first prenatal visit before the 23rd week of gestation, between April 1995 and July 1997 (n ¼ 13 760). Results: Mean MUAC, BMI and height were 25.5 cm, 23.5 kg=m 2 and 155.1 cm, respectively. The prevalence of HIV infection was 13.1% and the overall prevalence of wasting was 4.7%. Wasting was 34% (95% CI ¼ 3%, 73%) more prevalent among HIVinfected than in uninfected mothers, after adjusting for week of gestation, height and sociodemographic indicators. The risk of wasting associated with HIV infection was highest among women with low level of education or unable to contribute to the household income. From a multiple linear regression model, BMI was positively associated with mother's age, level of education and money spent on food, but not with HIV infection, after adjusting for week of gestation. In multivariate analysis, height increased monotonically by categories of maternal age and level of education, and was also positively correlated with the ability to contribute to household income, the amount of money spent on food per person per day, and having a professional partner. Conclusion: HIV infection is a significant risk factor for wasting among pregnant women, particularly in groups of low socioeconomic status (SES). SES indicators are strongly correlated with maternal height and with BMI during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy independently of HIV status.

Wasting and body composition of adults with pulmonary tuberculosis in relation to HIV-1 coinfection, socioeconomic status, and severity of tuberculosis

“…However, our findings provide indirect support for such synergism. On the one hand, the mean BMI and MUAC in this group of TB-infected adults were much lower than those recently reported for the general population in the city of Dar es Salaam (Bovet et al, 2002;Villamor et al, 2002). On the other, HIV/TB coinfected subjects in our study had significantly lower MUAC and AMC than those who were only TB positive.…”

Growth faltering due to breastfeeding cessation in uninfected children born to HIV-infected mothers in Zambia

“…We found that children of mothers who were better educated or married also had improved growth. The positive association of growth and maternal education has been reported previously in developing countries, including among children born to HIV-infected mothers (41)(42)(43)(44). We also found that other variables related to better socioeconomic position, namely the presence of electricity, tap water, a refrigerator, or a stove or hotplate in the home were strongly associated with better child growth.…”

Barriers for HIV testing during pregnancy in Southern Brazil

“…7,9 The estimated prevalence of HIV-positive testing in pregnant women in Brazil was 0.6%, which ranks Brazil in an intermediate position between high-rate African countries and low-rate developed countries. 11,15,18,22 Porto Alegre showed a similar prevalence when compared with other large cities in Brazil: 1.5% in Rio de Janeiro, 14 and 0.8% in Vitória. 12 Despite the high HIV testing rate in the first and second trimesters, a large number of HIV-positive women were still diagnosed late in the third trimester.…”