| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. The prevalence of smoking in people living with HIV (HIV/AIDS) tends to be three times higher than in the general population, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and cigarette smoking may compromise the success of antiretroviral therapy. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of smoking and to evaluate the associated factors in PLHIV/AIDS. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 462 subjects at the start of HAART attended at three referral services in specialized HIV / AIDS care in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 20152017, based on data from a prospective cohort study. The smoking status was: current smoker (FA) - who currently smokes, former smoker (EF) - who has ever smoked and currently does not smoke and non-smoker (NF) - who never smoked. Multinomial logistic regression was performed, the reference category was NF. As results, it was found that the majority were men (81.4%), young (up to 34 years, 57.2%) and non-white (75.7%). Of the total, 27.7% were current smokers, 22.9% were former smokers and 49.4% were non-smokers. The majority of smokers were light smokers (up to 10 cigarettes per day), smoked for more than 10 years and started on average at 17.2 years of age (SD = 5.1).In the multivariate analysis, the highest odds of being current versus non-smokers were: being female, having up to nine years of schooling, using alcohol and illegal drugs in life (marijuana, cocaine and crack) and presenting signs and / or symptoms of anxiety or depression. For former-smokers versus non-smokers, the highest odds were: to have up to nine years of schooling, to use alcohol and illicit drugs in their lives (marijuana and crack cocaine). The results of the study confirm previous research indicating that smoking is highly prevalent among PLHIV, demonstrating the need for specialized HIV care services to prioritize interventions for smoking cessation effectively targeting PLHIV with an approach to alcohol and illicit drug abuse, especially to young people and the most vulnerable individuals in society. | |
