HIV, Tuberculosis, and Food Insecurity in Africa—A Syndemics-Based Scoping Review

Temitope Ojo, Christina Ruan, Tania Hameed, Carly Malburg, Sukruthi Thunga, Jaimie Smith, Dorice Vieira, Anya Snyder, Siphra Jane Tampubolon, Joyce Gyamfi, Nessa Ryan, Sahnah Lim, Michele Santacatterina and Emmanuel Peprah
Additional contact information
Temitope Ojo: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Christina Ruan: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Tania Hameed: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Carly Malburg: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Sukruthi Thunga: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Jaimie Smith: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Dorice Vieira: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Anya Snyder: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Siphra Jane Tampubolon: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Joyce Gyamfi: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Nessa Ryan: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA
Sahnah Lim: Section for Health Equity, Department of Population Health, NYU Langone Health, 180 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
Michele Santacatterina: Division of Biostatistics, Department of Population Health, NYU Langone Health, 180 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
Emmanuel Peprah: Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Interventions through Engagement (ISEE) Lab, Global Health Program, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University (NYU), 708 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-31

Abstract: The double burden of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), coupled with endemic and problematic food insecurity in Africa, can interact to negatively impact health outcomes, creating a syndemic. For people living with HIV/AIDS (PWH), food insecurity is a significant risk factor for acquiring TB due to the strong nutritional influences and co-occurring contextual barriers. We aim to synthesize evidence on the syndemic relationship between HIV/AIDS and TB co-infection and food insecurity in Africa. We conducted a scoping review of studies in Africa that included co-infected adults and children, with evidence of food insecurity, characterized by insufficient to lack of access to macronutrients. We sourced information from major public health databases. Qualitative, narrative analysis was used to synthesize the data. Of 1072 articles screened, 18 articles discussed the syndemic effect of HIV/AIDS and TB co-infection and food insecurity. Reporting of food insecurity was inconsistent, however, five studies estimated it using a validated scale. Food insecure co-infected adults had an average BMI of 16.5–18.5 kg/m 2 . Negative outcomes include death ( n = 6 studies), depression ( n = 1 study), treatment non-adherence, weight loss, wasting, opportunistic infections, TB-related lung diseases, lethargy. Food insecurity was a precursor to co-infection, especially with the onset/increased incidence of TB in PWH. Economic, social, and facility-level factors influenced the negative impact of food insecurity on the health of co-infected individuals. Nutritional support, economic relief, and psychosocial support minimized the harmful effects of food insecurity in HIV–TB populations. Interventions that tackle one or more components of a syndemic interaction can have beneficial effects on health outcomes and experiences of PWH with TB in Africa.

Keywords: food insecurity; HIV/AIDs; tuberculosis; syndemics; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1101/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1101/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1101-:d:728561

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().