Time to recovery from malnutrition and its predictors among human immunodeficiency virus positive children treated with ready‐to‐use therapeutic food in low resource setting area: A retrospective follow‐up study

Abstract Background and Aim Malnutrition is a serious public health issue and a frequent impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which raises the risk of morbidity and mortality in affected people. Despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) support for the use of ready‐to‐use therapeutic foods (RUTF) to treat malnutrition, research on the length of time it takes for children with HIV infection to recover from malnutrition and the factors that predict it is lacking, particularly Ethiopia. Methods An institution‐based retrospective follow‐up study was carried out in the Amhara regional state referral hospitals in Northern Ethiopia. From 2013 to 2018, a total of 478 children who received RUTF treatments were chosen using a simple random sampling technique. To calculate the likelihood of recovery and the median recovery period, incidence and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were performed. The Cox regression model was used to identify predictors of time to recovery from malnutrition. The multivariable model only included variables with a p value below 0.2. While factors were deemed to be substantially linked with the outcome variable if their p value was less than 0.05. Results The median recovery duration was 5 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4–5 months), and the nutritional recovery rate was 64.64% (95% CI = 60.2–68.9). Moderate acute malnutrition (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] = 4.60, 95% [CI] = 2.85–7.43), WHO clinical stage I (AHR = 4.01, 95% CI = 1.37–11.77), absence of opportunistic infection (AHR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.19–2.61), haemoglobin (Hgb) count above the threshold (AHR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.01–1.85) and family size of 1–3 (AHR = 2.38, 95% CI = 2.38–5.00) were significantly linked to rapid recovery from malnutrition. Conclusion In comparison to the period specified by the national guideline (3 months for moderate and 6 months for severe acute malnutrition), the median time to recovery was lengthy. Acute malnutrition, clinical stage, opportunistic infection, Hgb count, and family size were statistically associated with early recovery from malnutrition

Adequate vitamin A rich food consumption and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting child immunization and post-natal clinic at health institutions in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia.

BackgroundVitamin A deficiency is highly prevalent in low-income countries and is a major public health problem worldwide. Lactating mothers are the most vulnerable population group to vitamin A deficiency. Despite this, there is limited study on vitamin A-rich food consumption by lactating mothers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess adequate vitamin A rich food consumption and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting child immunization and postnatal care centers in health institutions of Gondar Town.MethodsAn Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed at a health institution in Gondar Town from February to March 2019, and included 631 study participants. Simple random sampling followed by a systematic sampling technique was used to select participants. The data were collected using the Helen Keller International Food Frequency Questionnaire, entered using Epi-Info 7 statistical software and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable and variables with p-value ResultA total of 624 lactating mothers participated in the study giving a response rate of 98.89%. The study shows adequate consumption of vitamin A-rich food was 38.94% (95% CI: 35%- 43%). Predictors such as attending college diploma and above (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI; 1.02-4.99), having household family size ≤ 3 (AOR = 4.04, 95% CI; 1.60-10.17), being in higher economic class (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI; 1.18-3.14), having dietary diversity score of ≥ 5 (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI; 1.09-2.32) and meal frequency of ≥ 4 (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI; 1.09-2.32) were statistically significant.Conclusion and recommendationThe majority of respondents had inadequate consumption of foods rich in vitamin A. Educational status, family size, wealth index, dietary diversity, and meal frequency were found to be factors that affect adequate consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Encouraging and educating lactating mothers to consume foods rich in vitamin A is crucial