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. 2015 Mar-Apr;14(2):148-55.
doi: 10.1177/2325957413488195. Epub 2013 Jun 21.

Burden and Determinants of Severe Anemia among HIV-Infected Adults: Results from a Large Urban HIV Program in Tanzania, East Africa

Abel Makubi  1 , James Okuma  2 , Donna Spiegelman  3 , Claudia Hawkins  4 , Anne Marie Darling  2 , Elizabeth Jackson  2 , Ferdinand Mugusi  5 , Guerino Chalamilla  6 , Wafaie Fawzi  6
Affiliations

Burden and Determinants of Severe Anemia among HIV-Infected Adults: Results from a Large Urban HIV Program in Tanzania, East Africa

Abel Makubi et al. J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care. 2015 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Background and methods: This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors for severe anemia, severe microcytic anemia, and severe normocytic anemia among HIV-infected individuals aged >15 years. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for anemia.

Results: Data from 40 408 patients were analyzed, showing an overall prevalence of 22% for severe anemia. The risk of developing severe anemia increased by 49% among patients with a body mass index of <18.5 kg/m(2), by approximately 2-fold among patients with the World Health Organization (WHO) stage III, and by 3-fold among patients with WHO stage IV illness. Severe normocytic anemia was uniquely increased among patients aged ≥50 years, among those with chronic diarrhea and Kaposi's sarcoma, and those taking cotrimoxazole.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of severe anemia among adults infected with HIV. Focused identification of anemia should be based on the hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume measurements.

Keywords: HIV; adults; burden; determinants; severe anemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of severe anemia (hemoglobin < 8.5 g/dL) in relation to CD4 count (cells/mm3).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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