Oguntibeju O O, van den Heever W M J, Van Schalkwyk F E
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Spartan Health Sciences University, Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, West Indies.
Pak J Biol Sci. 2007 Oct 15;10(20):3592-8. doi: 10.3923/pjbs.2007.3592.3598.
This study examined the association between socio-demographic factors (educational level and employment status) and the nutritional and immune status of 35 HIV-positive/AIDS patients at baseline. Assessment of selected macro-and micronutrient dietary intake was done using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Evaluation of anthropometric profiles (body mass index, waist-hip ratio and percentage of body fat) was also evaluated. A questionnaire was applied to obtain information on the educational level and employment status of the patients. The CD4+ T-cell counts and viral loads of the same patients were determined using the flow cytometry and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method respectively. An association between educational level and dietary intake was significant (p < 0.05) for total dietary fibre, selenium and vitamin C. There was no significant (p > 0.05) association between the two socio-demographic variables (education and employment) and anthropometric profiles. The association between education, employment and CD4+ T-cell count was not significant (p > 0.05). The viral load showed a significant (p < 0.05) association with employment status but not correlated with education. The sample size or certain inherent biological and social factors probably affected the outcomes of the interplay between the two selected socio-demographic factors and the nutritional and immune status. It is suggested that the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended.
本研究在基线时考察了35名艾滋病毒阳性/艾滋病患者的社会人口学因素（教育水平和就业状况）与营养及免疫状况之间的关联。使用经过验证的食物频率问卷对选定的常量和微量营养素膳食摄入量进行评估。还评估了人体测量指标（体重指数、腰臀比和体脂百分比）。应用一份问卷来获取患者教育水平和就业状况的信息。分别使用流式细胞术和聚合酶链反应（PCR）方法测定同一批患者的CD4+ T细胞计数和病毒载量。教育水平与膳食纤维总量、硒和维生素C的膳食摄入量之间存在显著关联（p < 0.05）。两个社会人口学变量（教育和就业）与人体测量指标之间无显著关联（p > 0.05）。教育、就业与CD4+ T细胞计数之间的关联不显著（p > 0.05）。病毒载量与就业状况存在显著关联（p < 0.05），但与教育无关。样本量或某些内在的生物学和社会因素可能影响了所选定的两个社会人口学因素与营养及免疫状况之间相互作用的结果。建议谨慎解读本研究结果。推荐开展更大样本量的进一步研究。
