Open AccessFood Insecurity and CD4% Among HIV+ Children in Gaborone, Botswana
Author(s) -
Jason A. Mendoza,
Mogomotsi Matshaba,
Jeremiah Makhanda,
Yan Liu,
Matshwenyego Boitshwarelo,
Gabriel Anabwani
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/qai.0000000000000190
Subject(s) - food insecurity , confidence interval , medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , demography , linear regression , environmental health , food security , geography , immunology , archaeology , sociology , agriculture , machine learning , computer science
We investigated the association between household food insecurity (HFI) and CD4% among 2-6-year old HIV+ outpatients (n = 78) at the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Center of Excellence in Gaborone, Botswana. HFI was assessed by a validated survey. CD4% data were abstracted from the medical record. We used multiple linear regression with CD4% (dependent variable), HFI (independent variable), and controlled for sociodemographic and clinical covariates. Multiple linear regression showed a significant main effect for HFI [beta = -0.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.0 to -0.1] and child gender (beta = 5.6, 95% CI: 1.3 to 9.8). Alleviating food insecurity may improve pediatric HIV outcomes in Botswana and similar Sub-Saharan settings.