Prevalence and Determinants of Anaemia among HIV Positive Pregnant Women Attending Ante-Natal Clinic at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, North-central Nigeria

Aim: To determine the prevalence and determinants of anaemia in HIV positive pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic at Jos University Teaching Hospital, North-Central Nigeria.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among HIV positive pregnant women as the study group and HIV negative pregnant women as control group at the ante-natal clinic of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Jos, North-Central Nigeria from January to December 2007.
The prevalence of anaemia in the experimental group was determined. The possible determinants of anemia were ascertained and the relationship between variables determined using methods of linear regression and chi square test.
Results: A total of 230 pregnant women were recruited for the study (115 HIV positive versus 115 HIV negative). The overall prevalence of anemia was 27.6%. The prevalence among HIV positive pregnant women was 33.7%, compared to a prevalence of 21.7% among HIV negative pregnant women. This difference was however not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant relationship between the use of anti-retroviral therapy and the development of anaemia (X2 = 5.98, P = 0.014, OR = 1.15). An inverse relationship was established between haemoglobin status and viral load.
Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia is high among HIV positive pregnant women. There is an inverse relationship between viral load and haemoglobin status. The use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for the management of these patients can be regarded as good practice since ART reduces viral load.