Dietary intake and body mass index in HIV-positive and HIV-negative drug abusers of Hispanic ethnicity

Abstract

Objective: Malnutrition in drug abusers has been attributed to poor diet.

The effect of drug abuse on body mass index in Hispanics with and without HIV infection

“…Data describing this cohort, including details on dietary intake, weight and BMI, have been published elsewhere 1 . There were 286 participants enrolled in the study as of 31 December 2003.…”

“…We recently published data from a study locally known as the BIENESTAR study, showing that Hispanic men infected with HIV who were drug abusers had a lower body mass index (BMI) than HIV-positive men who were not drug abusers. Reported energy intake could not explain the difference in BMI among the men 1 . These findings, consistent with previous studies conducted in other populations by our own group 2 and others 3,4 , support the notion that diet alone cannot entirely explain the lower weight of drug abusers.…”

Measuring Food and Nutrition Security: Tools and Considerations for Use Among People Living with HIV

“…The multidimensional tools collect data on actual food consumed by individuals or households over a set period of time and provide detailed data about energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake and/or food groupings. Food consumption measures are often used in combination with each other [92,93]. The major advantage of using these tools is that they can provide a much more complete picture of dietary intake, both in terms of what is eaten and how much of it.…”

“…Onyango et al [70] used a combination of 24-h recall and FFQ with HIV affected and non-affected households in Kenya and showed that the percentage of RDA consumed for almost all nutrients were higher for the non-HIV-affected households than for those with HIV. 24-h dietary recalls have also been used in the context of HIV-positive and negative drug using cohorts in the US, in combination with other food consumption measures, to ascertain possible association between BMI and dietary intake [93].…”

“…The 24 h recall has shown to be valid for use among people with low levels of literacy, and has been effectively used in vulnerable populations including PLHIV who use drugs and those that live in HIV-endemic regions [70,93]. Some disadvantages associated with this tool are that it is prone to high intra-subject variability, requiring multiple recalls in order to obtain an accurate estimate of average nutrient intake.…”