摘要：The socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics of 290 (154 females and 136 males) Persons Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) has been assessed. They were randomly selected from a total of 1280 infected persons who registered for anti retroviral therapy at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, South Eastern Nigeria. The results revealed that the age group 31-43 years were the most affected, females (53.1%) were significantly (p<0.05) more affected than males (46.9%). The married and the tertiary educated persons were more affected than single and less educated persons. The low income earners were also more affected. The most common opportunistic infections were fever, loss of appetite and diarrhea. Most (98.2%) respondents recorded low CD4 counts, it was lower in females (190.1±32.5) than males (205.7±47.2). This difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The 24-hour dietary intake of nutrients (Vitamin C, Fat, protein and calories) was inadequate to meet the increased nutrient needs of PLWHA. Their anthropometric parameters did not reflect the clinical status of the respondents. Almost all male respondents (99.3%) and 96.8%) of females recorded normal MUAC values, while 92.6% of males and 91.3% of female respondents recorded normal BMI values. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in the BMI values of both males and females and MUAC values of females of the different age groups. The difference in MUAC values of males of the different age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). It was concluded that anthropometric parameters alone were not a good index of the health status of PLWHA. It is recommended that effective health education programmes be instituted in tertiary institutions. Voluntary counseling and testing and antiretroviral treatment centers should be readily available and easily accessible to facilitate prompt intervention. Food supplementation programmes should be urgently incorporated into the national effort to curb the impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
