Abstract:
Background: Anemia is a major public health problem among people living with HIV/AIDS in
Sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia. Understanding the prevalence of anemia and
related socio-demographic variables in a specific setting would help to scale-up preventive and
therapeutic measures. But in the Ethiopian context, there is limited data on the prevalence of
anemia and its association with HIV-positive adult clients on ART in health centers.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among adult HIV-positive
clients on HAART in ART site Health centers, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2022
Methods: Health institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-positive
adult clients on ART from May to June 2022 at Addis Ababa ART site Health centers. Of 101
HCs, 74 HCs are providing ART service. A total of 621 study participants had selected by multi stage random sampling technique among adults attending ART clinics at public health facilities.
A face-to-face interview, a pretested structured questionnaire, and a chart review had conducted
to collect data. Logistic regression analysis had used to measure the strength of the association
between anemia and independent variables using a 95% confidence interval (CI) and Odds
Ratio(OR). P-value, < 0.25, in the bivariable logistic regression model taken into multivariable
logistic regression analysis. Variable with P < 0.05 had taken as significant.
Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 37.5% [95% CI (33.8, 41.2)] which significantly
associated with sex (female) (AOR = 1.587,95% CI (1.129-2.231) , CD4 Count <200 cells/ul (AOR
= 2.9 4, 95% CI(1.433 – 5.861), frequency of eating/day which is <3/day(AOR =2.232,95% CI
(1.562-0.187) ,viral load suppression which has <1000 copies/ul (AOR =0.280, 95% CI (0.162-
0.483),nutritional support (AOR =0.610, 95% CI (0.379-0.981), nutritional condition whose BMI is
less than 18.5 Kg/m2
(AOR=2.397, 95% CI (1.581-3.635)and nutritional counseling (AOR= 0.461,
95% CI0 (0.324-0.656) for being anemic.
Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia among study participants was high, categorized as a
'moderate' type. And under nutrition, low meal frequency, CD4 count <200, Sex (being female) ,
dietary counseling, and nutritional support were variables significantly associated with anemia.
