A new study has found evidence that suggests that food insecurities increase the risk of death among injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS.
The United Nations' World Food Programme defines food insecurity as inaccessibility to food of proper quality and in adequate quantity. A study involving Simon Fraser University found evidence that suggests that injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS and with food insecurity are at a higher risk of death than injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS who have access to adequate food. This was also prevalent in drug users that were taking life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy (ART).
"This is the first study to look at the impact of food insecurity on the survival of HIV-positive injection drug users," says senior author Robert Hogg, an SFU health sciences professor and director of the HIV/AIDS Drug Treatment Program at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) in a press release. "The introduction of life-saving antiretroviral therapy has significantly reduced HIV-related morbidity and mortality, however, the impact of insufficient access to food, particularly quality food, on the mortality of HIV-positive injection drug users is alarming. This research points to the urgent need to further investigate the impact of food insecurity on the health outcomes of people living with HIV/AIDS."
For the study, 254 injection drug users were analyzed, of which 71 percent were reportedly food insecure at the time of ART initiation. A 13-year follow up was conducted on these participants. It was observed that the people with food insecurity were more likely to die faster than the participants who were food secure. However, researchers did clarify that food insufficiency and hunger were not the primary causes of death among injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS.
Brian Chittock, co-principal investigator on the national HIV food security study and executive director of AIDS Vancouver, said that such people could benefit a lot from education and counseling about eating healthy, referrals for appropriate clinical care and nutritional screening.
