Search

Background. HIV infection and long-term HAART use are associated with metabolic and morphological changes. We assessed prevalence, types, and risk factors associated with lipodystrophy among HIV-infected adults attending CTC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods. Analysis included 466 HIV-infected patients. Study protocol involved administration of structured questionnaire to collect sociodemographic and clinical information. Diagnosis of lipodystrophy was based on physician clinical assessment. Results. Lipodystrophy was present in 95 (20.4%) of the study participants, with lipoatrophy being the most common (49.5%) followed by mixed lipodystrophy (37.9%), and lipohypertrophy was the least prevalent (12.6%). Male gender, older age, long duration on HAART, and use of Stavudine containing regimen were associated with lipodystrophy (all p

Background. Elevated blood pressure has been reported among treatment naïve HIV-infected patients. We investigated prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors in a HAART naïve HIV-infected population in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among HAART naïve HIV-infected patients. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg. Overweight and obesity were defined as body mass index (BMI) between 25.0–29.9 kg/m2 and ≥30 kg/m2, respectively. We used relative risks to examine factors associated with hypertension. Results. Prevalence of hypertension was found to be 12.5%. After adjusting for possible confounders, risk of hypertension was 10% more in male than female patients. Patients aged ≥50 years had more than 2-fold increased risk for hypertension compared to 30–39-years-old patients. Overweight and obesity were associated with 51% and 94% increased risk for hypertension compared to normal weight patients. Low CD4+ T-cell count, advanced WHO clinical disease stage, and history of TB were associated with 10%, 42%, and 14% decreased risk for hypertension. Conclusions. Older age, male gender, and overweight/obesity were associated with hypertension. Immune suppression and history of TB were associated with lower risk for hypertension. HIV treatment programs should screen and manage hypertension even in HAART naïve individuals.