Factors Associated with Dietary Diversity among HIV Positive Adults (18 years) Attending ART Clinic at Mettema Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia:Cross-sectional Study

Background: HIV/AIDS has become a global health crisis and a leading cause of death in the developing world. Since 1981, more than 25 million people worldwide have died from this immunodeficiency syndrome. Very early in the AIDS epidemic, it was recognized that protein calorie malnutrition and specific micronutrient deficiencies were common in HIV and AIDS patients. Non-diversified diet and inadequate dietary intake could contribute to this severity of HIV/AIDS progression and to the depletion of CD4 count. Therefore, this study assess factors associated with dietary diversity among HIV positive adults (≥ 18 years) attending Anti-retroviral treatment clinic in Mettema hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Facility based cross sectional study design was used in Mettema hospital at anti-retroviral treatment clinic from March 18 to May 16, 2013. A total of 378 adult HIV positive individuals who are attending ART clinic selected by systematic random sampling technique were included in the study. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire using interview data collection method. Data were entered into Epinfo software and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences for windows version 16 and logistic regression methods were used. Result: A total of 376 respondents (with 99.5% response rate) were included in the study. Mean individual dietary diversity score showed that more than half (58.8%) of adult HIV positive individuals had low dietary diversity (95% CI: 0.49, 0.69). Significant factors associated with low dietary diversity were being lowest wealth quintile [AOR = 9.51, CI: 2.69, 33.48], being self-employed [AOR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.83] and daily laborer [AOR = 0.24; 95%: 0.08, 0.73], individuals with shorter duration of anti-retroviral treatment (less than one and half year) [AOR = 3.69; 95% CI: 1.47, 9.25] and taking Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis [AOR = 2.26; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.96]. Conclusion: Low dietary diversity was nutritional problem among HIV positive adults. Therefore efforts should be strengthened to improve employment status and consumption of animal based food items.