Relationship between BMI and CD4 cell counts among people living with HIV on ART attending Infectious Disease Hospital, Kano State

Abstract

Background There are currently an estimated 38 million people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the globe. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between Body mass index (BMI) and CD4 cell counts among people living with HIV attending Infectious Disease Hospital, Kano State. Method Two hundred HIV-positive and non-HIV positive above 18 years of age were recruited for the study. Blood samples were collected from both categories for the determination of CD4 count. The relationship between the height, weight, BMI, and CD4 cell counts was examined using Pearson correlation, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result Mean heights of among male HIV subject (1.66 ± 0.07) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) compared to female HIV subjects (1.54 ± 0.09). BMI was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in female HIV subjects (24.74 ± 4.95) when compared to male HIV subjects (21.78 ± 2.73). There was a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.280, p = 0.006) between CD4 cell count and height in non-HIV males; however, there was no significant correlation between CD4 count and BMI in HIV and non-HIV individuals. Conclusion The study concludes that there exists sexual dimorphism in HIV subjects among people living with HIV. There was no significant relationship between CD4 cell count and BMI in HIV and non-HIV individuals.