ANAEMIA AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HIV/AIDS PATIENTS ON ANTI-RETROVARIAL THERAPY IN PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES OF JIGJIGA TOWN, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Anemia is the most common hematological disorder and mainly caused by nutrient deficiencies (iron, folic acid and vitamin B12), sickle cell disease, AIDS, malaria, hookworm infection, and other infections. It is also one of the most prevalent among people living with HIV. However, there is a limited study conducted at Jigjiga town on the magnitude and factors associated with anemia among peoples living with HIV receiving anti-retroviral therapy Objectives: The study was aimed to assess anemia and associated Factors among HIV Patients on Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Public Health facilities of Jigjiga town, eastern Ethiopia from March 25 to April 25, 2020 Methods:-Institutional based cross-sectional study design was conducted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the 405 study participants. A drop of Capillary blood collected by finger pricking to determine the hemoglobin level and weight and height measurements was taken from study participants. Moreover, health related and immunologic data was collected from patient medical records after getting informed consent. The collected data was entered into EPI-data and transported into SPSS version 20 software for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with independent and dependent variable. The strength of the association was presented by odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (C.I) and p-value less than 0.05. Result: In this study, an overall prevalence of anemia is 43% (95% CI: 38%, 48.6%). Being smoker (AOR) =, 5.10, 95% CI: 1.09, 13.30), had habit of drinking coffee/tea within thirty minute after eating meal (AOR=2.10, 95%, 95%CI: 1.07, 4.29), duration on ART treatment more than 121 months (AOR=4.10, 95 % CI: 1.62, 10.55) and last CD4 count less than 250 cells/mm3(AOR=2.70, 95 % CI: 1.15, 6.38) were significantly associated with anemia. Conclusion: The overall magnitude ofAnemia among HIV positive clients receiving antiretroviral therapy were relatively high in the study area, smoking, habit of drinking coffee immediately after meal, longer duration on ART treatment and last CD4 count less than 250 cells/mm3 were significantly associated with anemia among HIV positive clients.