Abstract

MUTEMWA, Muyunda et al. Tobacco smoking and associated factors in human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults attending human immunodeficiency virus clinics in the Western Cape province, South Africa. South. Afr. j. HIV med. (Online) [online]. 2020, vol.21, n.1, pp.1-8. ISSN 2078-6751.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v21i1.1072.

BACKGROUND: In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, smoking increases both HIV-related and non-related negative health outcomes OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and associations of smoking in HIV-infected adults receiving antiretroviral therapy at public healthcare facilities in the Western Cape province, South Africa METHODS: Participants comprised 827 HIV-infected patients, who were > 18 years old and randomly selected from 17 HIV healthcare facilities. Self-reported smoking was defined as smoking tobacco daily or occasionally. Serum cotinine levels confirmed smoking status RESULTS: Participants included 653 women and 174 men. The overall mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 38.9 (9.0) years, 41.1 (8.9) years in men and 37.7 (8.9) years in women (p ˂ 0.001). The median diagnosed duration of HIV infection was 5 years. Smoking prevalence was 22% overall, and 26% in men and 21% in women (p = 0.022). The prevalence of former smoking was 14%. About a quarter of participants (185/751; 24.6%) had serum cotinine levels > 100 mg/mL with similar prevalence of high levels across smoking status (current smokers: 27.2%, former smokers: 29.6% and never smokers: 22.7%, p = 0.564) and did not vary by age, gender, cluster of differentiation 4 count or known duration of HIV. There was no agreement between self-reports and cotinine levels at ranking smoking exposure CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of current tobacco smoking in HIV-infected patients on care is within the range of that in the general population. This highlights the potential missed opportunity or challenges of co-addressing smoking cessation in individuals already in regular contact with the health system

Keywords : HIV and AIDS; smoking; cotinine; prevalence; South Africa.

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