Self-reported body changes and associated factors in persons living with HIV

The study aimed at verifying the associated factors of self-perceived body changes in adults living with hiv in highly-active antiretroviral therapy (haart) in the city of são paulo,brazil. this cross-sectional study was conducted among people living with hiv on haart for at least three months. a standardized questionnaire was used for assessing self-perceived body changes. associated factors relating to self-reported body changes in people living with hiv (plhiv) were assessed with student's t-test and chi-square test. in total,507 patients were evaluated. the mean time since diagnosis was 6.6 years [standard deviation (sd)±4.1],and the mean duration of haart was 5.1 years (sd±3.3). self-perceived body changes were reported by 79.5% of the participants and were associated with viral load and duration of haart. fibre intake was lower among males who gained in abdominal fat (p=0.035). haart-related body changes were reported by the large majority of the population and were associated with demographic and clinical variables. © international centre for diarrhoeal disease research,bangladesh.