Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: May | Volume: 11 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 117-124
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20210516
Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in HIV-Infected Adults in Nyeri County, Kenya
Regina Kamuhu1, Beatrice Mugendi2, Judith Kimiywe3, Eliud Njagi4
1Food, Nutrition & Dietetics Department, Kenyatta University, P.O BOX 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
2Food and Nutrition Department, Murang’a University of Technology, P.O Box 75-10200, Murang’a, Kenya.
3Food, Nutrition & Dietetics Department, Kenyatta University, P.O BOX 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
4Biochemistry And Biotechnology Department, Kenyatta University, P.O BOX 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Corresponding Author: Regina Kamuhu
ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is currently second, after cancer, as the most frequent cause of death among HIV-positive subjects in areas of the world where Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) is widely available. The purpose of this study was to investigate cardiovascular disease markers in HIV-infected adults attending comprehensive care clinic in Nyeri Level- 5- Hospital. The results are based on a sample of 85 participants that randomly selected for an intervention study with two study arms. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze all study variables. Relationships between all and individual CVD risk factors were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Criterion for statistical significance was at p < 0.05 and 90% power of test. Twenty nine percent of the respondents were aged fifty years and above while 48.2% were between 40-49 years. Only 5.9% of the respondents smoked while 8.2% drunk alcohol. Twenty seven percent (27.1%) had low physical activity while 24.7% had obesity class I (30-34.9), 8.2% had obesity class II (35-39.9) while 1.5% had obesity class III (> 40). Another 31.8% were overweight (25-29.9). 28.2% had hypertension stage I (140-159) and another 11.8% had hypertension stage II (>160). Twenty two percent (22.4%) had high total cholesterol (>6.2), while 34.1% had high serum triglycerides (2.25-5.6) and another 4.7% had very high serum LDL-C (>4.91). Framingham’s risk score was used to determine the 10-year risk of developing a coronary heart disease. Majority of the participants (60%) had low (<10%) 10-year risk of coronary heart disease at the baseline. There is a high prevalence of hypertension and overweight/obesity among HIV+ patients.
Key words: Cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular risk score, lipid profile, Framingham risk score.