Gastrointestinal Symptoms in HIV-Infected Patients: Female Sex and Smoking as Risk Factors in an Outpatient Cohort in Brazil

This study aimed to estimate the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) and associated factors in an outpatient cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) followed between October 2009 and July 2011. We evaluated nausea and/or vomiting, dyspepsia, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, and flatulence. The outcome variable was the presence of three or more GIS. Sociodemographic (sex, skin color, age, income, years of schooling), lifestyle (smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity level), clinical (antiretroviral therapy, time of HIV infection, CD4 lymphocyte count, viral load), and anthropometric (nutritional status and waist circumference) variables were investigated. Data on sociodemographic and lifestyle variables were collected through a pre-tested and standardized questionnaire. CD4 count was determined by flow cytometry and viral load by branched DNA (bDNA) assays for HIV-1. All variables were analyzed at a p