Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa

dc.contributor.advisorKalk, Emma
dc.contributor.authorRhoda, Janice
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-09T09:32:45Z
dc.date.available2025-04-09T09:32:45Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.date.updated2025-03-28T13:38:44Z
dc.description.abstractBackground Infants who are HIV-Exposed Uninfected (HEU) may experience adverse growth outcomes compared to those who are HIV Unexposed Uninfected (HUU). Breastfeeding (BF) provides infants with the necessary nutrients to grow optimally irrespective of maternal HIV status. The initiation and duration of BF may also be related to infant growth. We compared growth parameters from birth up to 12 months old in infants who were HEU and HUU, investigating associations with types of infant feeding practices (BF and complementary feeding) and Household Food Security Status (HFSS) under the current era of universal Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnancy policies in South Africa. Methods Pregnant women living with and without HIV were enrolled at their first antenatal visit. Feeding data and infant anthropometry were collected at birth, 7 days, 10 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. Infant weight and length at birth were converted to weight-for-age (WAZ) and length-forage (LAZ) using Intergrowth-21st software, and the World Health Organization (WHO)-Anthro survey analyzer tool was used to obtain these and weight-for-length z-scores (WLZ) from 10 weeks old. Linear mixed effects (LME) models were fit to compare WAZ, LAZ and WLZ between infants who were HEU and HUU controlling for a priori selected variables. Results Overall, 796 mother-infant pairs were included, 400 (50%) were HUU and 396 (50%) were HEU. A high proportion of all infants had ever breastfed, although this was lower in infants who were HEU compared to HUU (90% vs 93%; p = 0.118). Infants who were HEU vs HUU had a significantly shorter median duration of BF [73 days; IQR 12-222 vs 209 days; IQR 72-365 [p < 0.001]). There were no differences between the two groups regarding the types of complementary feeding. By 12 months, both infants who were HEU vs HUU had high proportions of overweight (17% vs 21%; p 0.22). WAZ and LAZ on average were lower in infants HEU than HUU [β = -0.147; 95% CI: -0.327, 0.033] and [β = - 0.146; 95% CI: -0.339, 0.471] keeping age at visit, maternal age, duration of BF, HFSS, employment and marital status constant. Conclusion Infants who were HEU had lower WAZ and LAZ compared to those who were HUU after adjusting for covariates. At 12 months, high proportions among both groups were overweight; which may be partly related to sub-optimal complementary feeding practices. Public health interventions need to be aimed at strengthening BF practices among the population of infants who are HEU and improving complementary feeding practices for all infants.
dc.identifier.apacitationRhoda, J. (2024). <i>Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationRhoda, Janice. <i>"Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRhoda, J. 2024. Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Rhoda, Janice AB - Background Infants who are HIV-Exposed Uninfected (HEU) may experience adverse growth outcomes compared to those who are HIV Unexposed Uninfected (HUU). Breastfeeding (BF) provides infants with the necessary nutrients to grow optimally irrespective of maternal HIV status. The initiation and duration of BF may also be related to infant growth. We compared growth parameters from birth up to 12 months old in infants who were HEU and HUU, investigating associations with types of infant feeding practices (BF and complementary feeding) and Household Food Security Status (HFSS) under the current era of universal Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnancy policies in South Africa. Methods Pregnant women living with and without HIV were enrolled at their first antenatal visit. Feeding data and infant anthropometry were collected at birth, 7 days, 10 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. Infant weight and length at birth were converted to weight-for-age (WAZ) and length-forage (LAZ) using Intergrowth-21st software, and the World Health Organization (WHO)-Anthro survey analyzer tool was used to obtain these and weight-for-length z-scores (WLZ) from 10 weeks old. Linear mixed effects (LME) models were fit to compare WAZ, LAZ and WLZ between infants who were HEU and HUU controlling for a priori selected variables. Results Overall, 796 mother-infant pairs were included, 400 (50%) were HUU and 396 (50%) were HEU. A high proportion of all infants had ever breastfed, although this was lower in infants who were HEU compared to HUU (90% vs 93%; p = 0.118). Infants who were HEU vs HUU had a significantly shorter median duration of BF [73 days; IQR 12-222 vs 209 days; IQR 72-365 [p < 0.001]). There were no differences between the two groups regarding the types of complementary feeding. By 12 months, both infants who were HEU vs HUU had high proportions of overweight (17% vs 21%; p 0.22). WAZ and LAZ on average were lower in infants HEU than HUU [β = -0.147; 95% CI: -0.327, 0.033] and [β = - 0.146; 95% CI: -0.339, 0.471] keeping age at visit, maternal age, duration of BF, HFSS, employment and marital status constant. Conclusion Infants who were HEU had lower WAZ and LAZ compared to those who were HUU after adjusting for covariates. At 12 months, high proportions among both groups were overweight; which may be partly related to sub-optimal complementary feeding practices. Public health interventions need to be aimed at strengthening BF practices among the population of infants who are HEU and improving complementary feeding practices for all infants. DA - 2024 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Medicine LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2024 T1 - Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa TI - Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationRhoda J. Association between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2024 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41376en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066Eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Health and Family Medicine
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectMedicine
dc.titleAssociation between infant feeding practices and infant growth by maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy status: A prospective study in Cape Town, South Africa
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMPH
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_hsf_2024_rhoda janice.pdf
Size:
2.8 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.72 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Collections