A Hospital Based Cross Sectional Study on Dietary Status and Associated Factors among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kigali, Rwanda

Background Good nutrition empowers PLWH with the ability to fight against infection ultimately slowing down disease progression. Consequently, nutrition management is a crucial component of HIV treatment, care, and support. This study aimed at assessing dietary status and associated factors among PLWH in Kigali, Rwanda. Methods We conducted a cross sectional study in three selected hospitals in Kigali from over a six-week period in July – August, 2019 to collect data from 204 HIV positive adults enrolled using systematic random sampling. Data was collected using an adapted, validated and pre-tested food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 25 for windows. Results The proportion of participants with poor dietary status was 15% based on FFQ responses. The study found only three factors to be independently associated with dietary status. There was an association between dietary status and HIV status disclosure (AOR 2.5; CI 1.25 - 4.83; p=0.014). There was an association between dietary status and travel time to place of collection of ARVs (AOR 3.2; CI 1.7 - 5.8; p=0.006). There was an association between dietary status and BMI (AOR 10.2; CI 8.30 – 16.0; p<0.001). Conclusions Poor dietary status among PLWH remains a concern. The strong association between dietary status and BMI underlines the need for interventions that target PLWH to improve dietary status and ultimately nutrition status