Zero Prevalence of HIV and HCV Coinfection in the Highly HIV-infected Population of Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Hepatitis C affects 5–15% of the 38 million people living with HIV globally. Africa which has the second highest prevalence of HIV/HCV co-infection following Asia. This alarming statistics has made it crucial that studies be done to also ascertain the HIV/HCV co-infection prevalence in the country and host factors which may influence the co-infection. Objective: Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of HCV infection amongst the HIV population of Rivers state, Nigeria. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), in Rivers State, Nigeria, from February 2017 to September 2019. Methods: In this study, 226 HIV-infected individuals were recruited comprising 105 males and 121 females. These subjects were screened for the presence of HIV and HCV using ELISA and was performed according to the kit manufacturer’s stipulations. The demographic characteristics of the participants were obtained using a questionnaire designed for the study. Results: The presence of antibodies to HIV-1 reconfirmed the HIV status in all the study subject. A seroprevalence rate of 0.0% was observed for HIV/HCV infection. The ratio of females to males was found to be 1.2:1. The ages of the study population ranged from 16 to 70 years with a median age of 42.5 years. A large number (30.5%, n = 69) of the participants were within the age group 40 – 49 years, followed by those within 30 – 39 years (26.1%, n= 59), 50 – 59 years (17.3%, n = 39) and >59 years (13.7%, n = 31). Participants that were within younger age groups had less population; 20 – 29 years (9.7%, n = 22), with those that are <20 years having the least population (2.7%, n = 6). Many (49.1%, n = 111) of the study participants were found to be married. About 46.5% (n = 105) of them were single, while a few (4%, n = 10) were widowed. Conclusion: No coinfection of HIV/HCV was found, in spite of Nigeria being endemic for HCV. However, despite this zero rate of HIV/HCV coinfection, routine screening for HCV markers should be carried out to reduce morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals.

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Nutritional risk and nutritional status in hospitalized older adults living with HIV in Shenzhen, China: a cross-sectional study

BMC Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1186/s12879-021-06322-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoning Liu ◽

Jing Cao ◽

Zheng Zhu ◽

Xia Zhao ◽

Jing Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Albumin Level ◽

Nutritional Risk ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Living With Hiv

Abstract Background Nutrition is a crucial factor that can impact morbidity and mortality in older people living with HIV (PLWH). Studies on nutritional risk and nutritional status in all age groups in PLWH have been conducted. However, few studies have focused on nutritional risk in older PLWH. This study aimed to describe the nutritional risk and nutritional status in older PLWH, and explore factors associated with nutritional risk and undernutrition status. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study. We recruited participants aged 50 years or older from the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen from January 2016 to May 2019. Nutritional risk and nutritional status were evaluated by the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) tool, body mass index (BMI), albumin level, and prealbumin level on the first day of admission. Logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with undernutrition based on the BMI, albumin, and prealbumin criteria. Results A total of 196 older PLWH were included in the analysis. We found that 36% of hospitalized older PLWH had nutritional risk, and 12–56% of them had undernutrition based on the BMI, albumin, and prealbumin criteria. An increased nutritional risk score was associated with older age (β = 0.265 CI [0.021, 0.096], P = 0.002), a higher viral load (β = − 0.186 CI [− 0.620, − 0.037], P = 0.028), a lower BMI (β = − 0.287 CI [− 0.217, − 0.058], P = 0.001), and a lower albumin level (β = − 0.324 CI [− 8.896, − 1.230], P = 0.010). The CD4 count was associated with the prevalence of undernutrition based on the albumin criterion (OR = 15.637 CI [2.742, 89.178], P = 0.002). Conclusion Our study indicated that nutritional screening, assessment, and management should be routinely performed in hospitalized older PLWH. HIV-specific measures should be used to assess nutritional risk, and albumin, BMI, and other assessments should be used in combination to identify undernutrition in older PLWH.

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High prevalence of comorbidities and use of concomitant medication in treated people living with HIV in Germany – results of the BESIDE study

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/0956462420942020 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 095646242094202

Author(s):

B Funke ◽

CD Spinner ◽

E Wolf ◽

H Heiken ◽

S Christensen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regional Distribution ◽

Age Groups ◽

Renin Angiotensin System ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Hiv Care ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Age Related ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Living With Hiv

Due to demographic changes in people living with HIV (PLHIV), physicians are challenged with age-related comorbidities and their management. In the absence of comprehensive data collection, the burden of comorbidities and co-medication in addition to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains unclear for the German real-world setting. BESIDE was an observational, cross-sectional study evaluating the prevalence of comorbidities and use of co-medication in treated PLHIV. Regional distribution of study centers (n = 20), consecutive patient recruitment, and age-stratified sampling in alignment with national epidemiologic data aimed to ensure a representative sample (n = 453). The overall prevalence of comorbidities was 91.2%; 31.6% of patients had ≥4 comorbidities. The most common diagnoses were vitamin D deficiency (29.1%), depressive episode (27.8%), arterial hypertension (16.3%), and hypercholesterolemia (10.8%). 83.7% of patients were on co-medication; 21.2% taking ≥4 medications. The most common medications or supplements were vitamins (31.6%), anti-inflammatory agents (16.1%), renin–angiotensin system agents (12.1%), acid suppressants (11.7%), lipid modifying agents (10.8%); 1.3% of patients were on co-medication that should not be co-administered with ART, 41.5% on co-medication with potential for drug–drug interactions. The prevalence of comorbidities and use of co-medication among treated PLHIV in Germany is consistently high and increases across age groups, illustrating the complexity of HIV care involving appropriate ART selection.

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Prevalence of Malaria among Febrile Patients attending Government Hospitals in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria

American Journal of Epidemiology & Public Health ◽

10.37871/ajeph.id40 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 017-024

Author(s):

Omoya F.O ◽

Ajayi KO

Keyword(s):

Malaria Parasite ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Malaria Prevalence ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Infection Prevalence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Government Hospitals ◽

Ondo State ◽

The Mean

Background: The use of malaria infection prevalence among febrile patients is a valuable epidemiological surveillance tool. In this study, a cross sectional study was conducted among febrile patients in selected government Hospitals in Ondo State for malaria prevalence. Results: Plasmodium falciparum is the only encountered malaria parasite with prevalence values of 82.72% (426/515) and 80.19% (413/515) were obtained for microscopy and RDTs respectively. The prevalence of malaria among the males (86.59%) was higher than the females (80.65%), all age groups in this study were vulnerable with highest infection rate of 89.66% among age group 11-20 years. The parasites densities ranged between 209 and 22310 parasites/μl with a mean parasitaemia of 5522.17 ± 183.30 parasites/μl. The prevalence of malaria among the febrile participants that have taken antimalarial drug before visiting the hospital is 82.94% (389/469) with the mean parasitaemia of 4615.21 ± 188.14 parasites/μl while among the participants that have taken herbs before visiting the hospital the prevalence is 85.03% (142/167) with the mean parasitaemia of 4913.81 ± 330.20 parasites/μl. Conclusion: There was high prevalence of malaria among febrile patients and this fi nding will help improve the diagnosis and treatment of other febrile (non-malaria) infections, limit antimalarial usage to only malaria parasite-based test true positives and serve as a guide to combat malaria drug resistance in the study area.

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CONCENTRATION OF THE SERUM TGF-BETA1 IN HEALTHY ADULT PEOPLE

Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy ◽

10.34071/jmp.2014.4_5.12 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 90-93

Author(s):

Van Tuan Nguyen ◽

Tam Vo ◽

Bui Bao Hoang

Keyword(s):

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

Healthy Adult ◽

Age Groups ◽

Elevated Serum ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Healthy People ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Transforming Growth Factor Beta1 ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

And Gender

Elevated serum Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) levels have been linked to tissue fibrosis including chronic kidney disease. Objectives: (1) Investigate serum TGF-beta1 levels in healthy adult people and (2) Examined the relation between serum TGF-beta1 level and gender, age, body mass index (BMI). Method: A cross-sectional study. TGF-beta1 were quantified by ELISA. Results: Levels of serum TGF-beta1 in healthy people were 13,45 ± 7,17 ng/mL mL (0,59 - 33,10 ng/mL). There are no difference of serum TGF-beta1 levels between men and women, between the age groups (<40 years, 40 to < 60 years and ≥ 60 years), between BMI groups < 23 and BMI group ≥ 23. Key words: TGF-beta1, healthy people

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Prevalence of COVID-19-like Symptoms among People Living with HIV, and Using Antiretroviral Therapy for Prevention and Treatment

Current HIV Research ◽

10.2174/1570162x18666200712175535 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 373-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi ◽

Maryam Ghadimi ◽

Mahboubeh Hajiabdolbaghi ◽

Mehrnaz Rasoolinejad ◽

Ladan Abbasian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Symptoms ◽

Antiretroviral Treatment ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Shortness Of Breath ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Limited Data ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Living With Hiv

Background: COVID-19 has spread globally with remarkable speed, and currently, there is limited data available exploring any aspect of the intersection between HIV and SARSCoV- 2 co-infection. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of clinical symptoms associated with COVID-19 among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Tehran, Iran. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 200 PLWH were recruited through the positive club via sampling, and completed the symptom-based questionnaire for COVID-19, which was delivered by trained peers. Results: Of 200 participants, respiratory symptoms, including cough, sputum, and shortness of breath, were the most prevalent among participants, but only one person developed symptoms collectively suggested COVID-19 and sought treatments. Conclusions: It appears that existing infection with HIV or receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) might reduce the susceptibility to the infection with SARS-CoV-2 or decrease the severity of the infection acquired. Further research is needed to understand causal mechanisms.

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Metabolic Syndrome in HIV-patients in Antiretroviral Therapy

Current HIV Research ◽

10.2174/1570162x18666200609115615 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 388-395

Author(s):

Daniel Vargas-Pacherrez ◽

Helma P. Cotrim ◽

Leonardo Pires ◽

Vitor Cunha ◽

Vitor Coelho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Antiretroviral Therapy ◽

International Diabetes Federation ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Anthropometric Data ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

History Of ◽

Family History Of Hypertension ◽

Living With Hiv

Introduction: The global prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) among people living with HIV/AIDS varies from 20% to 33%. Objective: to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and associated factors in a group of HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with HIV-infected patients from a reference center in Bahia, Brazil. We evaluated clinical, socio-demographic and anthropometric data. MS was defined according to the guidelines of International Diabetes Federation. Results: We evaluated 152 patients with mean age of 47.3±11.6 years, 59.2% male. The main comorbidities detected were diabetes (3.3%) hypertriglyceridemia (9.3%) and metabolic syndrome (MS,38.2%). Patients with MS were predominantly women (55.2% vs 31.9%; p=0.005), older [52.1 (10.4) vs 44.3 (11.3); p<0.001], and had overweight (74.1% vs 23.4%; p<0.001). After multivariate analysis MS remained associated with age (OR = 1.076; 95% CI: 1.030 – 1.125), female sex (OR = 2.452; 95% CI: 1.114 – 5.374) and family history of hypertension (OR = 3.678; 95% CI: 1.431 – 9.395). Conclusion: Almost half of the HIV-infected patients in Bahia presents with MS which seems to be driven by classical risk factors.

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The Prevalence of Insecticide Treated Net/malaria :cross section study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.16825 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Chanda Chalela

Keyword(s):

Study Design ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Malaria Prevalence ◽

Malaria Patient ◽

P Value ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Itn Use ◽

Structured Questionnaire

BACKGROUND ABSTRACT Introduction a study on prevalence of ITN use was carried out in Buchi community Kitwe Zambia from August to October 2019 OBJECTIVE Prevalence of ITN in BUchi METHODS Methodology: This was a cross sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to ascertain ownership and utilization and oral interviews, 200 households were targeted 844 individual covered across the 200 households. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 23. RESULTS ABSTRACT Introduction a study on prevalence of ITN use was carried out in Buchi community Kitwe Zambia from August to October 2019 Methodology: This was a cross sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to ascertain ownership and utilization and oral interviews, 200 households were targeted 844 individual covered across the 200 households. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 23. Findings: household ownership of at least an ITN was 52% and individual utilization at 37.6%, with 0.825 ITN/households and 0.195ITN /individual. Malaria prevalence of 52.4% /household and a 12.4% of the population. With 47.6% malaria patient coming from households with ITN and 60% of households with ITN have insufficient coverage.61% of malaria patient were female and 31 % male. however there was no significant relation between Gender and malaria prevalence in study area (p value was >0.05). Malaria cases distribution with age groups, 0-15yrs old represented 49.5%, 16-30 yrs., was at 27.6% and the over 30 yrs. case were at 22.9% .use of other preventive measures 23% used mosquito repellent ,others methods 1% with those not using any other methods 76%. CONCLUSIONS Conclusion The study showed clearly that malaria still poses a problem .the prevalence rate of malaria was still high 12.4% of the population and 52.4% of households. With high prevalence of malaria of 49.5% for 0-15yrs.the difference between ownership 52% and Utilization 37.6% showed that even household with ITN, the ITN were not sufficient.60% of households with ITN, the ITN were not sufficient for all occupants

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Socioeconomic determinants of unmet need for outpatient healthcare services in Iran: a national cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10477-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sajad Vahedi ◽

Amin Torabipour ◽

Amirhossein Takian ◽

Saeed Mohammadpur ◽

Alireza Olyaeemanesh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health System ◽

Age Groups ◽

Unmet Need ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Outpatient Services ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Organizational Policies ◽

Utilization Of Healthcare

Abstract Background Unmet need is a critical indicator of access to healthcare services. Despite concrete evidence about unmet need in Iran’s health system, no recent evidence of this negative outcome is available. This study aimed to measure the subjective unmet need (SUN), the factors associated with it and various reasons behind it in Iran. Methods We used the data of 13,005 respondents over the age of 15 from the Iranian Utilization of Healthcare Services Survey in 2016. SUN was defined as citizens whose needs were not sought through formal healthcare services, while they did not show a history of self-medication. The reasons for SUN were categorized into availability, accessibility, responsibility and acceptability of the health system. The multivariable logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors of SUN and associated major reasons. Results About 17% of the respondents (N = 2217) had unmet need for outpatient services. Nearly 40% of the respondents chose only accessibility, 4% selected only availability, 78% chose only responsibility, and 13% selected only acceptability as the main reasons for their unmet need. Higher outpatient needs was the only factor that significantly increased SUN, responsibility-related SUN and acceptability-related SUN. Low education was associated with higher SUN and responsibility-related SUN, while it could also reduce acceptability-related SUN. While SUN and responsibility-related SUN were prevalent among lower economic quintiles, having a complementary insurance was associated with decreased SUN and responsibility-related SUN. The people with basic insurance had lower chances to face with responsibility-related SUN, while employed individuals were at risk to experience SUN. Although the middle-aged group had higher odds to experience SUN, the responsibility-related SUN were prevalent among elderly, while higher age groups had significant chance to be exposed to acceptability-related SUN. Conclusion It seems that Iran is still suffering from unmet need for outpatient services, most of which emerges from its health system performance. The majority of the unmet health needs could be addressed through improving financial as well as organizational policies. Special attention is needed to address the unmet need among individuals with poor health status.

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Religion: Interrelationships and Opinions in Children and Adolescents. Interaction between Age and Beliefs

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel12050357 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 357

Author(s):

Rafael López Cordero ◽

Francisca Ruiz Garzón ◽

Lourdes Medina Martínez ◽

María del Carmen Olmos-Gómez

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Current Trend ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Experimental Methodology ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Younger Age ◽

Religious Issue ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Quantitative Descriptive

The current trend of secularization seems to be leading to a gradual withdrawal of religion from public spaces. However, in an increasingly internationalized world, it is becoming more and more important to study the roles of religion and religiosity and their potential in relation to dialogue and social conflicts and tensions. Education is a vital field within which to address this religious issue and create an educational dialogue in order to promote coexistence. By following a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, based on a quasi-experimental methodology with a social–analytical character, our aim is to assess the existing connections between religion, interrelation and opinion in Spanish children and adolescents. Special attention is paid to the interaction between age and beliefs. We carried out our study with the use of a questionnaire distributed to eleven secondary schools, with students aged between 11 and 16 years old, in three regions of southern Spain (Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla) characterized by high religious diversity and multiculturalism. The multivariate analysis carried out in this study identifies the effects of variance on the influence of age and religion, highlighting the interaction between the two. It is observed that the youngest students are those who express their opinions about religion the least, while those belonging to younger age groups and majority religions are those who express a greater religious coexistence, with Muslims externalizing their religious condition the most.

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Determinants of alcohol consumption and marijuana use among young adults in the Republic of Palau

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12199-020-00928-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mizuki Sata ◽

Renzhe Cui ◽

Chifa Chiang ◽

Singeru Travis Singeo ◽

Berry Moon Watson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Age Groups ◽

Marijuana Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Education Levels ◽

The Status ◽

The Republic ◽

Republic Of Palau

Abstract Background This study aimed to describe the status of alcohol consumption and drug use among young adults as well as their determinants. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 356 young adults (aged 18 to 24 years) living in Palau in 2013. The prevalence of self-reported alcohol and marijuana usage were compared within and between sexes, age groups, ethnicities, and education levels. Results The proportion of current drinking was higher in people aged 21–24 than in those aged 18–20 (73.2% vs. 60.9%, p = 0.09 in men and 48.3% vs. 30.0%, p = 0.02 in women), while that of marijuana use did not differ between the age groups. The proportions of current drinking and marijuana use were higher in Palauan than in other ethnicities (current drinking: 70.6% vs. 40.6%, p = 0.005 in men and 38.8% vs. 16.6%, p = 0.04 in women; lifetime marijuana use: 80.0% vs. 52.9%, p = 0.02 in men and 56.1% vs. 30.6%, p = 0.09 in women). The proportion of frequent (3 times or more) marijuana users was higher for the lower educated than for the higher educated (62.5% vs. 32.1%, p < 0.001 in men and 33.9% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.12 in women). Conclusions Sex, age, ethnicity, and education were significant determinants of alcohol and marijuana use.

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