Prevalence of Underweight, Stunting, and Wasting among Children Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus in South India

Abstract

Background. Growth failure is a common feature of children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Malnutrition increases mortality and may impair the response to antiretroviral treatment. Objective. Our objective was to describe the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting in HIV-infected children in south India and to assess the utility of these parameters in predicting immune status. Methodology. In this cross-sectional study, anthropometric measurements and CD4 counts were performed on 231 HIV-infected children. Z scores for height for age, weight for age, and weight for height were correlated with CD4 cell counts and receiver operating characteristic curves plotted. Results. Prevalence of underweight was 63%, stunting 58%, and wasting 16%, respectively. 33–45% of children were moderately or severely malnourished even at CD4 >25%; sensitivity and specificity of stunting or underweight to predict HIV disease severity was low. Conclusions. Undernutrition and stunting are common among HIV-infected children at all stages of the disease in India. Early and aggressive nutritional intervention is required, if long-term outcomes are to be improved.

Clinico-immunological profile and outcome of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive children

“…Similarly, the percentage of wasting in our population was 12?9 % whereas data from south India reported 34 % (7) and 16 % (9) in the two studies. Although this difference may not be statistically significant because of the small sample size, the variation in results should be evaluated in terms of the general living conditions, socio-economic status, feeding practices, immunization status and prevalence of communicable infections in various states.…”

“…Results showed that about 40 % of our population of HIVpositive children in age groups #5 years and .5 years had stunting and short stature, respectively; these values can be compared with those in two separate studies on HIV-positive children conducted in south India, which showed a prevalence of 58 % (7) and 46 % (9) for stunting. Similarly, the percentage of wasting in our population was 12?9 % whereas data from south India reported 34 % (7) and 16 % (9) in the two studies.…”

“…We could not extrapolate their finding for the rest of the country but, knowing their results, we feel it is essential to study the prevalence of HIV in malnourished children as the latter is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in these children (6,7) .…”

Nutritional assessment of children orphaned from human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and implementing a food based intervention to improve their nutritional status in Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria

“…Enwereji (2010) in Uturu, Abia state where the commonest reason for not being in school was lack of money. The prevalence of underweight and stunting in this study were lower than the findings in western Kenya were 30 and 47% of the orphaned children were underweight and stunted respectively, (Bloss et al, 2002) and in South India where a stunting prevalence of 58% was observed (Padmapriyadarsini et al, 2009). Similarly, the levels of severe underweight and stunting in the current study are lower than the indication by Adeba et al (2014) in Oromia in Ethiopia were 27.5% of the children were severely stunted and the proportion of severely underweight children in the study area was 28.7%.…”

The Prevalence and Determinants of Short Stature in HIV-Infected Children

“…As compared to studies performed in other settings, the prevalence of short stature (HAZ < À2) was not high as in other settings such as southern India, where the prevalence of short stature in treatment-naive HIV-infected children of younger than 18 years of age was 58%, the majority of whom were in WHO clinical stage 3. 13 In Tanzania, the prevalence of stunting in treatment-naive HIV-infected children younger than 15 years of age was 52%, and majority of them were also in WHO clinical stage 3.…”