article · Advances in Hematology
Anaemia is a frequent complication in people living with HIV and plays a key role in disease progression and mortality. This study evaluated the prevalence and contributing factors of anaemia among adults receiving antiretroviral treatment at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital in Ethiopia between 2013 and 2018. An analysis of clinical records from 237 patients revealed that 26.2 percent had anaemia. Significant risk factors included a history of opportunistic infections, advanced disease indicated by WHO clinical stages three and four, and a low body mass index below 18.5. In contrast, individuals taking tuberculosis medications had a reduced likelihood of anaemia. The recorded prevalence was lower than that reported in many comparable Ethiopian studies, suggesting that tracking nutritional status and managing secondary infections are essential components for clinical care in this patient group.
Anaemia substantially raises the risk of illness and death among individuals undergoing treatment for HIV. Identifying linked health conditions, such as undernutrition and advanced disease stages, helps healthcare providers recognise vulnerable patients earlier. This enables clinics to better direct nutritional assistance and targeted monitoring alongside standard antiretroviral regimens.
The findings can inform clinical decision-support tools and targeted diagnostic protocols for healthcare providers managing HIV treatment programmes. This represents early-stage clinical research, providing epidemiological data rather than a standalone commercial product. Practical application would require integration into existing public health guidelines or clinic-level screening workflows.
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Introduction . Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin level of less than or equal to 13.9 g/dl for male and less than or equal to 12.2 g/dl for female adults. It is one of the most common hematological abnormalities in people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and is a determining factor for disease progression and death. Among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia is one of the most affected nations by HIV. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among HIV-positive adults that had received antiretroviral treatment (ART) at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital. Methods . An institution-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted involving 263 adults with HIV/AIDS that had undergone ART at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital, Ethiopia. Data were collected from patient charts using systematic sampling with a pretested data extraction tool and entered using EpiData 3.1. Variables having a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> value ≤0.25 in the bivariate were fitted to a multivariable regression model with a 95% confidence interval. <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> values ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant in the multivariate analysis. Results . Among the 263 HIV-positive patients, 237 (90.11%) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of anemia was 26.2%. Factors that were significantly associated with anemia were past opportunistic infections, patients being in WHO clinical stage III and IV, and a BMI <18.5. Conversely, those patients who took anti-TB medication were less likely to have anemia. Conclusion . Our study shows that the severity of anemia among HIV/AIDS patients that had undergone ART is lower than most studies conducted in Ethiopia. We also found that opportunistic infection, WHO clinical staging, anti-TB treatment, and low BMI were significantly associated with anemia. Therefore, routine screening of patient nutritional status and opportunistic infections may be useful in predicting and controlling anemia in HIV/AIDS patients.
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DOI: 10.1155/2020/2513578
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