Open AccessHIV Status and Antiretroviral Therapy as Predictors of Disability among Older South Africans: Overall Association and Moderation by Body Mass Index
Author(s) -
Stephen Asiimwe,
Livia Montana,
Kathleen Kahn,
Stephen Tollman,
Chodziwadziwa Kabudula,
Xavier Gómez-Olivé,
Lisa F. Berkman,
M. Maria Glymour,
Till Bärnighausen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of aging and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1552-6887
pISSN - 0898-2643
DOI - 10.1177/0898264320925323
Subject(s) - underweight , medicine , body mass index , moderation , gerontology , antiretroviral therapy , demography , confidence interval , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , overweight , psychology , viral load , family medicine , social psychology , pathology , sociology
Objectives: Among older people living with HIV (PLWH) and comparable individuals without HIV, we evaluated whether associations of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) with disability depend on body mass index (BMI). Methods: We analyzed 4552 participants in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa." (HAALSI) We compared prevalence of disability (≥1 impairment in basic activities of daily living) by HIV status, ART use, and BMI category, adjusting for age, sex, education, father's occupation, country of origin, lifetime alcohol use, and primary health-care utilization. Results: Among PLWH, those underweight had 9.8% points (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2 to 18.4) higher prevalence of disability than those with normal BMI. Among ART users, those underweight had 11.9% points (95% CI: 2.2 to 21.6) higher prevalence of disability than those with normal BMI. Conclusions: We found no evidence that weight improvement associated with ART use is likely to increase disability.