Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2025 May 31;25(1):2027.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-23275-1.

Determinants of underweight among HIV-Infected children in pastoral communities of Southern Ethiopia: a facility-based cross-sectional study

Tagese Yakob  1 , Awoke Abraham  2 , Abraham Bezabih  3 , Mesfin Manza Jaldo  4 , Begidu Yakob  5 , Eskinder Israel  2
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Determinants of underweight among HIV-Infected children in pastoral communities of Southern Ethiopia: a facility-based cross-sectional study

Tagese Yakob et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The effect of HIV infection on the nutritional status of patients has been widely known for several years, as well as the synergy between the infection and the conditions of poverty in developing countries. However, particular communities like pastoralists in underdeveloped countries live in a unique crossroad where challenges related to HIV prevention and control, and vulnerability to the disease exacerbate each other. Thus information from such range of contexts is valuable in addressing the complicated medical condition resulting from the combination of HIV infection and malnutrition. This study therefore aimed to assess the nutritional status and its associated factors among HIV infected children from pastoral zones of south Ethiopia.

Methods: Multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among 399 HIV-positive ≤ 15 year children. Data were collected systematically from selected participants by using interviewer administered structured and pre-tested questionnaires. We used Epi-data version 4.1 for data entry and SPSS Version 25for data analysis. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance with the corresponding 95% confidence interval. The goodness of fit (GOF) of the model was checked using Hosmer-Lemeshow test. The p-value of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test of this model is p-value greater than 0.05 which confirms that the model is correctly specified.

Results: The magnitude of underweight (weight-for-age z-score ≤ -2) was found to be 50.1%, 95% CI (0.45-0.55).In the multi-variable analysis, the mothers 'age of15 to 18 years(AOR = 2.02; 95% CI = 1.10-3.71), mother's exposure to mass media(AOR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.05-2.39), household food insecurity(AOR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.18-3.13) and having history of Oropharyngeal disease(AOR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.01-2.39) were significantly associated with being underweight.

Conclusion: The prevalence found in this study was high when compared with the local studies. Policies and intervention strategies aimed at improving childhood nutrition and health should address the identified determinant factors.

Keywords: Anti-retroviral; HIV/AIDS; Pastoralist; Pediatrics; Underweight.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical review was approved by Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Wolaita Sodo University, College of Medicine and Health Science. The patients/participants [legal guardian/next of kin] provided written informed consent to participate in this study. All the subjects were assured of confidentiality and the freedom to reject. There is no record of identification information to ensure confidentiality and privacy. Study was conducted following the relevant guidelines, regulation, and principles of the Helsinki Declaration. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual framework
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Nutritional Status of HIV infected under-15 children from pastoral communities of South Ethiopia, 2024
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. de Onis M, Onyango AW. WHO child growth. Lancet. 2008;371:2008. - PubMed
    1. Victora CG, Adair L, Fall C, Hallal PC, Martorell R, Richter L, et al. Maternal and child undernutrition: Consequences for adult health and human capital. Lancet. 2008;371(9609):340–57. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Card AR, Nutrition ON. Progress for Children, A report card on nutrition. the UNICEF website: [Internet]. 2006;(4). Available from: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/PFC2012_A_report_card_on_adoles
    1. Rose AM, Hall CS, Martinez-Alier N. Aetiology and management of malnutrition in HIV-positive children. Arch Dis Child. 2014;99(6):546–51. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Science A, Animal F, Heritage C, Landscape C. Pastoralism. 2018.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources