Factors Influencing Adherence to Anti-retroviral Therapy in HIV Patients Registered at ART Center Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Context: After introducing ‘Treat all policy’ in the country and free ART (Anti-retroviral therapy) for all patients the biggest challenge is to optimize adherence to therapy and ensure viral suppression. The present study is aimed to determine the adherence pattern of HIV positive patients at ART center, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh and to determine the factors influencing adherence. Methods and Material: This cross-sectional study was conducted in an ART Centre of a teaching hospi-tal. In this study 357 patients were interviewed using a modified version of ACTG questionnaire and ad-herence was calculated by pill count and recall method. Chi square test and logistic regression was done using SPSS. Results: Nearly 72% patients had optimum adherence. On univariate analysis the factors found signifi-cant were sex of the patient, the education, the socioeconomic status, financial constraints, family sup-port, WHO stage at diagnosis, alcohol addiction and tobacco addiction. On logistic regression four factors, having less than college education, WHO stage IV at diagnosis, alcohol intake and lack of family support were found to be predictors of non-adherence. Conclusions: Family support, treatment of alcohol addiction improving education and job opportunities for these patients will improve adherence in HIV positive patients.

Effect of diet and body mass index on the serum lipid profile in healthy premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal tribal women of India

Background: The serum lipid profile in premenopausal and perimenopausal/postmenopausal women gets deranged not only due to hormonal changes in different patterns of menstrual cycle but also due to body mass index (BMI) and dietary influence. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of BMI and dietary influence in serum lipid profile in among groups of premenopausal and perimenopausal/postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based study was carried out on total (n = 161) healthy women in different phases of menstrual cycle. Results: Dietary factor has not any influence on the lipid profile in these women and BMI has got an effect to a lesser extent on lipid profile in postmenopausal group. Conclusions: Dietary habits and BMI status do not influence the serum lipid levels as most of the women belonged to low socioeconomic status, subsiding on fiber-rich diet and being more physically active.