Risk factors and correlates for anemia in HIV treatment-naïve infected patients: a cross-sectional analytical study

Abstract Background Hematologic manifestations of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are a well-recognized complication of the disease and may be clinically important. Our objective was to determine the risk factors for anemia and its correlation with HIV treatment-naïve infected patients without co-infection or opportunistic diseases. Findings We performed a cross-sectional comparative study in which HIV treatment-naïve infected patients with anemia were compared with a control group of HIV patients without anemia. The interrelationship between risk factors and anemia was determined. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, to adjust for the effects of potential confounders and we used a logistic regression model. Pearson's correlation coefficient was obtained to calculate the correlation between risk factors and hemoglobin. We enrolled 54 men and 9 women. Anemia was found in 13 patients; prevalence .20 (CI 95% 0.12-0.32). Severe anemia was found in only one patient (1.5%). Only CD4+ Cells Count 3 was associated with increased risk of anemia in the multivariate analysis. There was a moderately strong, positive correlation between WBC and hemoglobin (r = 0.49, P Conclusions Anemia is a common manifestation in the Mexican population without antiretroviral therapy. In HIV naïve patients a CD4+ Cell Count 3 was associated with an increased risk of anemia. There is a positive correlation between hemoglobin and CD4+ cell count.</p