Effects of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy on Body Mass Index and CD4 Count of HIV Clients Attending Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti
Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess the effects of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) on the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Cluster of Differentiation (CD4) cell counts of Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive individuals attending one of the health institutions in Nigeria. A total of 150 HIV patients were recruited for the study of which 112(74.7%) participants were undergoing HAART while 38(25.3%) were not on HAART. Their BMI and the CD4 counts were determined using standard methods. The result revealed that administration of HAART has no significant effect on the BMI and the CD4 cell counts of the HIV patients recruited for the study. However, the age of the patients on HAART was found to be significantly associated with the CD4 cell counts with those aged 25yrs and below having a higher CD4 cell count of 600.50±272.52cells/mm3 compared to other age groups (p<0.05). This study has shown that the age of the HIV patients may influence the effectiveness of HAART in the management of the infection
Keywords: HIV, HAART, BMI, CD4 cell counts