Alcohol Use and Food Insecurity among People Living with HIV in Mbarara, Uganda and St. Petersburg, Russia

Abstract
Food insecurity (FI) is a documented problem associated with adverse health outcomes among HIV-infected populations. Little is known about the relationship between alcohol use and FI. We assessed whether heavy alcohol use was associated with FI among HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve cohorts in Uganda and Russia. Inverse probability of treatment weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association using cross-sectional baseline data. FI was experienced by half of the Russia cohort (52%) and by a large majority of the Uganda cohort (84%). We did not detect an association between heavy alcohol use and FI in either cohort (Russia: AOR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.46, 1.40; Uganda: AOR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.57, 1.74) or based on the overall combined estimate (AOR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.60, 1.33). Future studies should explore the determinants of FI in HIV-infected populations to inform strategies for its mitigation.
Description
Keywords
Food Insecurity, HIV, Alcohol
Citation
Patts, G. J., Cheng, D. M., Emenyonu, N., Bridden, C., Gnatienko, N., Lloyd-Travaglini, C. A., ... & Samet, J. H. (2017). Alcohol use and food insecurity among people living with HIV in Mbarara, Uganda and St. Petersburg, Russia. AIDS and Behavior, 21(3), 724-733. doi:10.1007/s10461-016-1556-x.