This study aimed to identify the prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among adolescents and youth people in the North Shoa Zone. In this study, the prevalence of stunting in adolescents and youth living with HIV (ADLHIV) who attend chronic care was 37% (95% CI: 32.0,41.9). This finding was consistent with the cross-sectional study conducted in Uganda on the nutritional status of HIV-infected adolescents which was 36.2%[17].
The prevalence of stunting in this study was higher than a study finding in Eastern Ethiopia among pediatrics-age children attending antiretroviral therapy which was 24.7%[15] and a study in Dangila Town, Northwest Ethiopia which was 24.8%[16]. It was also higher than a cross-sectional study conducted among adult HIV/AIDS patients in Jimma Hospital 27.2%[18], and Dilla Hospital 25.2%[19]. The difference may be due study setting difference this study area is more rural compared with the other and the study period may contribute to the high prevalence of stunting because in recent times more crises are happening in the country which case social, economic, and health impact on the society. This discrepancy might be also due to the difference in socioeconomic status, sample size difference, and cultural variation between the study subjects.
In the present study, the prevalence of thinness among adolescents and youth living with HIV was 13.4% (95%, CI:10.3–16.9), which was almost comparable with the study done in Uganda at 18%[17], and Arba Minch 18.2%[20]. The prevalence of thinness was lower than a study finding in Saudi Arabia (19.2%)[21], Eastern Ethiopia (28.2%)[15], and Jimma University Hospital (27.2%)[18]. The difference is caused by variations in the socioeconomic and demographic traits of the study participants as well as variations in sample sizes. Moreover, the current WHO 90-90-90 test and treatment strategy, which has seen many more HIV-infected children placed on HAART early, may be responsible for the study's lower magnitude of undernutrition. This policy has changed the comorbidity of undernutrition.
Thinness in this study was higher than a study finding in Dangla which was 7.1%,[16]. The differences seen between this study and other studies could be attributed to differences in sample size, healthcare service utilization, and community healthcare awareness. Also, it could be a result of the study participants’ varied socioeconomic and lifestyle variables.
From Multivariable Logistic Regression output nutritional counseling, sex, skipping meals, and educational status of caregivers were significantly associated with thinness whereas sex, educational status of caregivers, and family incomes were significantly associated with stunting.
Those who did not get nutritional counseling were about four-time thinner than those who get nutritional counseling. This was similar to the research conducted among Children on Follow Up in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals, Ethiopia[13] and among adult HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART in Dilla University Referral Hospital, Dilla, Southern Ethiopia[19] and among pediatric HIV-positive patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in Johannesburg, South Africa[22] This shows nutritional counseling help ART patient to select the appropriate diet and nutritional problem can aggravate the disease and decrease immunity.
The likelihood of thinness and stunting was higher among boys when compared to girls. Young boys were about 2.6 times more likely at risk for thinness and 1.5 more stunts than female participants. This result was in line with the study findings in Uganda[17], among HIV-infected
children in Central and West-Africa[23] and different parts of Ethiopia[15, 16]. The reason for the high prevalence of stunting and thinnest among males than females might be related to biological, behavioral, and socio-cultural mechanisms.
According to this study participants who Skip a meal were five-time thinner than their counterparts. This result was in line with the study findings in Dangila Town, Northwest Ethiopia[16], and the study done in Saudi Arabia[24]. The participants may skip meals for a variety of reasons, such as food insecurity at home, a lack of awareness of the risks, or the mistaken belief that doing so will help them lose weight. If adolescents and youth feed infrequently and limited meal patterns, it will interfere with the distribution of nutrients they receive over the course of a day, resulting in low energy intake and insufficient micronutrient intake and leading to being thin.
The educational level of the caregiver was among the factors significantly associated with stunting and thinness. Those who have no formal education were about eight times more stunt and four times thinner compared with study participants who have Secondary and above educational levels. There was a similar finding with studies in Sub-Saharan Africa[2], among Adolescent School Girls in Adwa Town, North Ethiopia[14], and among school adolescent girls in Abuna Gindeberet district, Central Ethiopia[4]. The possible reason for this was that school attending helped to get more information about a balanced diet and the mechanism of disease prevention and health promotion compared with their counterparts.
Study participants whose family income was less than 1500 Ethiopian birr were nearly eight times more stunt compared with those who got more than 4000 Ethiopian birr. This is in line with the study among adult HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART in Dilla University Referral Hospital, Dilla, Southern Ethiopia[19] and Among HIV-Positive Adolescents on Antiretroviral Therapy in Southern Ethiopia[8] and HIV infected adults in Tanzania[25]. HIV infection may have an indirect impact on a child's nutritional status by affecting the social environment in which the youngster grows up. Evidence suggests that in some situations when the family's most productive members have HIV, agricultural productivity and household economic capability are diminished, which can result in a condition of food insecurity and undernutrition.