Nutritional status and food intake of HCV/HIV coinfected patients.

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection may cause nutrient deficiency and affect the nutritional status.Objetive: To assess nutritional status, and energy and macronutrient intake in HCV/HIV coinfected patients.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study on HIV/HCV-coinfected patients treated in a public hospital. Nutritional status was assessed by measurements of weight, height, waist circumference (WC), arm circumference (AC), triceps skinfold thickness (TST), non-dominant hand gripltrength (NDHGS), body mass index (BMI) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hour recall.

RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients (59.6% women) with mean age of 46 ± 11.2 years were studied. According to BMI, more than half of patients were overweight or obese, and 41% of men and 68% of women had increased or substantially increased WC. The prevalence of malnutrition varied between the methods -10.5% (BMI), 29.8% (AC), 56.2% (TST), 17.6% (MUAC), and 12.3% (NDHGS). We found a high percentage of patients with inadequate intake of protein, fat and energy. The percentage of total energy intake (%TEI) from carbohydrates inversely correlated with WC and AC. A positive correlation was observed between %TEI from protein and NDHGS, and between %TEI from fat and BMI, WC and AC.

CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence of increased body weight and WC, and inadequate dietary intake in HCV/HIV coinfected patients. We observed a positive association between protein intake and muscle function, and between fat intake and obesity.