Nutritional status and body image satisfaction of patients living with HIV attended in a hospital school.

Abstract

Introduction: The introduction of antiretroviral therapy
caused changes in the nutritional status of people living with
the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, including the lipodystrophic syndrome, causing a negative impact on body image.

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status and body
image satisfaction of patients living with the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus.
Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study, carried out between October 2020 and January 2021, in patients aged 19 years and over with HIV treated at Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira, located in Recife.
Demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, biochemical, and  lifestyle data were collected. For nutritional assessment, the following were used: body mass index, arm circumference, arm
circumference and muscle area, and triceps skinfold thickness. To assess body image satisfaction, the Body Shape Questionnarie was applied.
Results: The sample consisted of 119 patients, with a
mean age of 38.86 ± 10.73 years, 62.2% of whom were female. Regarding socioeconomic data, 49.6% of the individuals were employed and 67.9% received 1 to 2 minimum wages. Regarding lifestyle, more than half of the individuals said they did not practice physical activity. As for the nutritional profile, there was a higher percentage of overweight/obesity (55.5%) and excess weight (57.6%), according to body mass index and triceps skinfold, respectively.
Regarding body image, most individuals were satisfied with
their current physical shape (73.7%). A statistically significant association was found between body image dissatisfaction and overweight/obesity according to arm circumference (p=0.018) and in individuals who had a monthly income of 1-2 minimum wage (p=0.042).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that there was a prevalence of eutrophy and overweight in the nutritional status of patients with HIV/AIDS, in addition to presenting dissatisfaction with their body image.