PREVALENCE OF ANEMIA AMONG HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS POSITIVE PATIENTS TAKING HIGHLY ACTIVE RETROVIRAL THERAPY

Abstract

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Anemia is a global health, affecting more than 1/5th of all people. Many illnesses and disease agents predispose to anemia, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV positive individuals face much morbidity and mortality, and anemia makes matters even worse. However, anemia among patients receiving highly active retroviral therapy (HAART) is yet to be explored. OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence of anemia type among HIV positive patient taking HAART. METHODOLGY: Study done at department of pathology LUMHS Jamshoro /Hyderabad, from 1st May 2021to 31st October 2021,254 HIV patients (aged 18 years and above) of either gender taking HAART for at least the past 6 months were taken via convenience sampling.  After taking written informed consent, patients were asked about their sociodemographic details and medical history along with the inferences obtained from general, physical and systemic examination and baseline hematological examination. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS. v. 21.0 and MS Excel 365. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 34 (SD 5) years. The bulk of the participants were middle-aged males from a rural background with a moderate socioeconomic standing. Anemia was found in 85.8% of the participants, with the majority of them suffering from mild to moderate anemia and only a handful suffering from severe anemia. Anemia was shown to be more common and severe in different genders, age groups, and socioeconomic levels. CONCLUSION: Anemia is highly prevalent among HIV patients taking HAART therapy. Though therapy has known benefits and the prevalence of anemia is seemingly less (than values reported in literature) than untreated patients, the difference is not much. Interesting associations can be noted among the study variable and prevalence and severity of anemia detected in the sample.