The A. C. Subba Reddy Government Medical College is located in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. It was established in 2014 with an intake capacity of 150 (MBBS seats). It is affiliated to Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences. The college was named after Anam Chenchu Subba Reddy, a veteran leader and former Municipal Chairman of Nellore district.
Background Malnutrition is a common clinical concern among children in low-income communities affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We examined the effect of a community-based nutritional intervention on anthropometric and clinical outcomes of children of women living with HIV in rural India. Methods We assigned women living with HIV and their child (oldest 3-8 years) to 1 of 4 programs: (1) community-based HIV care program, (2) program 1 + nutrition education, (3) program 1 + food supplement, and (4) all elements of programs 1-3. Study data were collected at baseline and months 6, 12, and 18. We applied mixed-effects modeling with restricted maximum likelihood estimation to examine changes in weight (all children) and CD4(+) T-cell counts (children with HIV only). Results Overall, 600 mother-child pairs were enrolled (150/group) with 100% retention at follow-up visits. Approximately 20% of children were living with HIV. Children in program 4 had higher weight gain than those in programs 1, 2, and 3 at all time points (adjusted P < .001). We found a higher increase in CD4(+) T cells across all time points among participants in programs 3 and 4 compared with program 1 (adjusted P < .001). Factorial analysis suggested a synergistic effect of combining nutrition education and food supplements for weight gain but not for increase in CD4(+) T cells. Conclusions A combination of nutrition education and food supplements provided to women living with HIV significantly increased weight and CD4(+) T cells, and such interventions can be integrated into HIV-care programs in low-income settings. A combination of nutrition education and food supplements delivered by community healthcare workers to women living with HIV significantly increased body weight of their dependent child regardless of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infection status, and CD4(+) T-cell counts among their children living with HIV.
