Siduna Kamva1 and Dominic Targema Abaver1,2*
Background/Objective: A retrospective study was conducted to access better understanding of the prevalence and risk factors of Opportunistic Infections (OIs) in HIV-positive individuals, informing targeted interventions and enhancing overall health outcomes. Methods: Medical records 212 of patients (61.79% female, 38.21% male) were accessed to extract relevant information for the study. Fisher’s exact test revealed significant associations between gender, substance abuse, healthy diet practices and having single or multiple partners with the development of opportunistic infections. Results: A total of 212 HIV-positive patients were enrolled, with a majority being female (61.79%) and adults aged between 25 to 65 years (68.87%). Most participants were single (83.02%), unemployed (66.9%) and had a history of substance abuse (61.79%). The prevalence of opportunistic infections was 15.09%, with pulmonary tuberculosis being the most common (75%), followed by extrapulmonary tuberculosis (18.75%) and herpes zoster (6.25%). Females were less likely to develop opportunistic infections compared to males (OR=0.26; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.57; p=0.0007). Patients not using substances were less likely to develop opportunistic infections (OR=0.32; 95% CI:0.13 to 0.82; p=0.0170). Those with unhealthy diet practices were significantly more likely to develop opportunistic infections (OR=8.46; 95% CI: 3.56 to 20.53; p<0.0001). Patients with multiple partners were more likely to develop opportunistic infections (OR=3.33; 95% CI: 1.27 to 9.26; p=0.0250). Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of addressing these factors in the management of HIV-positive patients to reduce the risk of opportunistic infections.
Published Date: 2025-01-04; Received Date: 2024-11-04
