Table 1.
Demographic and anthropometric characteristics, perception of health and reported illness of Ghanaian lactating women, by HIV status
| Characteristic | All | Seropositive | Seronegative | Unknown status | P * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 70) | (n = 16) | (n = 27) | (n = 27) | ||
| Mean (SD) | |||||
| Postpartum period (month) | 8.4 (4.7) | 7.0 (4.9) | 9.9 (4.8) | 7.7 (4.2) | 0.087 |
| Age (year) | 28.0 (5.5) | 25.8 (4.7) a | 30.5 (6.0) b | 26.7 (4.4) a | 0.006 |
| Education (year) | 8.1 (3.1) | 7.7 (3.2) | 8.5 (3.0) | 8.0 (3.1) | 0.685 |
| Live births (#) | 1.3 (1.5) | 1.3 (1.7) | 1.8 (1.5) | 0.9 (1.1) | 0.063 |
| BMI (kg m–2) † | 24.4 (4.7) | 21.0 (3.3) a | 26.4 (5.3) b | 24.2 (3.6) b | 0.001 |
| MUAC (cm) ‡ | 28.8 (4.1) | 25.6 (3.0) a | 30.7 (4.7) b | 28.8 (2.9) b | <0.001 |
| Perceived stress score | 8.0 (3.3) | 7.3 (2.4) | 7.6 (2.6) | 8.7 (4.1) | 0.306 |
| % (n) | |||||
| Marital status | 0.007 | ||||
| Married | 37.1 (26) | 12.5 (2) | 63.0 (17) | 25.9 (7) | |
| Cohabitating | 40.0 (28) | 50.0 (8) | 22.2 (6) | 51.9 (14) | |
| Single | 22.9 (16) | 37.5 (6) | 14.8 (4) | 22.2 (6) | |
| Perceived health as poor | 25.7 (18) | 31.2 (5) | 25.9 (7) | 22.2 (6) | 0.807 |
| Household food security status | 0.186 | ||||
| Food secure | 48.6 (34) | 62.5 (10) | 44.4 (12) | 44.4 (12) | |
| Mild food insecurity | 30.0 (21) | 18.8 (3) | 44.4 (12) | 22.2 (6) | |
| Moderate food insecurity | 10.0 (7) | 12.5 (2) | 7.4 (2) | 11.1 (3) | |
| Severe food insecurity | 11.4 (8) | 6.2 (1) | 3.7 (1) | 22.2 (6) | |
| Reported illness (past 2 weeks) | |||||
| Malaria | 15.7 (11) | 12.5 (2) | 14.8 (4) | 18.5 (5) | 0.920 |
| Fever | 14.3 (10) | 18.2 (3) | 11.1 (3) | 14.9 (4) | 0.907 |
| Gastrointestinal illness | 7.1 (5) | 6.3 (1) | 11.1 (3) | 3.7 (1) | 0.837 |
*
P‐values compare groups by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status using Pearson's chi‐square test for proportions and one‐way analysis of variance (anova) for means (with Bonferroni post‐hoc tests for significant anova tests).
a,b
Values with same superscript in a row are not significantly different from each other (P ≥ 0.05).
†
BMI, body mass index; n = 15 (seropositive), 27 (seronegative), 25 (unknown status).
‡
‡ MUAC, mid‐upper arm circumference.