Duration of breast feeding and outcome of HIV-exposed infants seen at a tertiary health facility in Sokoto

Background: Appropriate infant feeding is still a challenge to HIV-positive mothers especially in the developing world despite their desire to breast feeding beyond the WHO recommended 12 months' duration. Objective: To determine the duration of breast feeding and correlate with outcome of HIV-exposed infants in UDUTH, Sokoto. Methods: This descriptive observational study was conducted among HIV-exposed infants attending Paediatric ART(PMTCT) clinic, UDUTH, Sokoto. The demographics, infant post-exposure prophylaxis, duration of breast feeding and results of early infant diagnosis (EID) of the infants using HIV-DNA PCR machine; and maternal highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) history were documented. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0. A p-value of ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: One hundred and sixty-three HIV-positive mother-infant pairs were studied, 103(61.7%) of the HIV-positive mothers were aged 25-34 years, 105(62.9%) were of lower socio-economic class and 94(56.3%) had informal education. One hundred and fifteen (62.5%) were on TDF/3TC/EFV and 143 (85.6%) were on HAARTs prior to the index pregnancy. One hundred and sixty-three of the HIV-exposed infants studied were breast-fed and 165 (98.8%) had nevirapine as infant PEP. The mean duration of breast feeding among HIV-exposed infants was 13.2(±3.5) months with a range 6 ­ 20 months. Ninety-eight (60.1%) infants were breastfed beyond 12months. All the HIV-exposed infants were not infected at the end of breastfeeding for 12 months or more. Conclusion: Majority of the HIV-positive mother's breastfed beyond WHO recommended 12 months and their infants were uninfected. This may support the upward review of the duration of breast feeding of HIV-exposed infants in our community

Prevalence of Obesity, Diabetes Type 2 and Hypertension among a Sampled Population from Sokoto Metropolis-Nigeria.

Aims: To determine the prevalence of obesity and its relationship with hypertension and diabetes among dwellers of Sokoto metropolis. Study Design: A descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: We conducted the study in March 2012, within Sokoto metropolis to mark the world kidney day. Methodology: We enrolled 300 participants using a convenience sampling technique. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain the biodata and past medical history. Blood pressure and anthropometric parameters were measured while blood and urine samples were taken for RBS estimation and urine analysis respectively. We analyzed the data obtained using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. Results: Out of the 300 participants that came for screening, two opted out, thus leaving 298 participants. There were 50.3% males and 49.7% females. Their mean age was 42±31 years. The BMI ranged between 14-48 kg/m2 with mean of 24.24 kg/2 ±5. Mean SBP and RBS were 130mmhg (±25) and 7.34±4 mmol-1 respectively. About 13.9% of the participants were found to be obese. Obesity was significantly associated with SBP (p<0.001) and RBS level (p=0.002). Conclusion: Obesity is quite common in our environment and it contributes to the occurrence of hypertension and elevated blood sugar. Screening for obesity markers should be encouraged at every contact with healthcare provider. Physical activity for at least 30 minutes/day should be encouraged in order to reduce the risk of obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus.