Sociodemographic and Anthropometric Profile of People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Starting Treatment in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Context: Since the transition to Dolutegravir (DTG) in 2019, several studies have been documented on People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and particularly in Kinshasa. Nevertheless, no study was found on the socio-demographic and anthropometric profile of PLHIV who start treatment in Kinshasa after 2019. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the Sociodemographic and Anthropometric profile of People Living with HIV starting AntiRetroViral treatment in Kinshasa in the Dolutegravir era. Method: This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study to determine the socio-demographic and anthropometric profile of PLHIV starting ARV treatment in HIV Outpatient Treatment Centers (OTC) in Kinshasa. 13 OTCs were included in the study based on their expertise in caring for PLHIV and their accessibility. Socio-demographic and anthropometric data were recorded on worksheets previously tested by the team of investigators. The parameters of interest followed for the present study were: age, sex, religion, residence, level of study, marital status, occupation, economic class, height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), etc. Results: 119 patients were included in this study in accordance with the inclusion criteria; 67 (56.3%) are female. The mean age of the patients included in 39.87 12.36 years. The most represented age