Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer.
In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. In this aspect, current HIV-treatment guidelines, particularly in low-income countries, recommend the regular monitoring of body mass index BMI to determine patients' clinical response to antiretroviral therapy ART.
Hence, this study is aimed at investigating the trends of BMI change over time and its associated factors among HIV-positive adults in Northwest Ethiopia. Data were extracted from the medical record charts of study participants, entered into Epi-data 4. More than half , or In the cohort, both the baseline and follow-up mean body mass index levels of the participants fell in the normal range and increased from The individual profile plots of 50 participants indicated that there is considerable variability in weight change across individuals.
They are closely related terms, and their relationship is bidirectional 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. HIV is one of the major causes of malnutrition in adults due to its effects on loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, opportunistic infections, malabsorption of essential nutrients, and the increasing metabolic needs of the body 1 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 , Besides, HIV-associated weight loss and a low body mass index BMI are found to be independent indicators of poor treatment outcomes, including death The risk of death among HIV-positive patients who were malnourished was nearly twice as high as that of their counterparts 3 , 17 , 18 , In light of this, in a setting with low socioeconomic status where tracking the virologic and immunologic response of HIV-positive patients is challenging, routine follow-up of BMI changes is used as a key indicator to monitor the progress of patients on ART.
Nevertheless, HIV-positive individuals are expected to gain weight after initiation of ART due to the reversal of gastrointestinal function, the return of appetite, and the decreased incidence of opportunistic infections 20 , 21 , 22 , The universal test- and- treat strategy is presumed to be more beneficial in lowering the viral load and revitalizing the immune system, thereby improving the patient's quality of life and nutritional condition.
