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Tobacco consumption among HIV-positive respondents: Findings from the third round of the National Family Health Survey
Authors: Priya Lall, Rumana Saifi, and Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Source: Nicotine & Tobacco Research , First published online: April 18, 2016; doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw111
Topic(s): HIV/AIDS
Tobacco use
Country: Asia
  India
Published: APR 2016
Abstract: Introduction: HIV-positive people are often more susceptible to illnesses associated with smoking, e.g. cardiovascular disease, than those in the general population. The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between tobacco use and HIV-status in India. Methods: This paper analysed data from the National Family Health Survey III, which provides a representative sample of the Indian population. Patterns in tobacco consumption among HIV-positive and negative respondents were assessed through logistic and ordinal regression models. Associations between smoking, asthma and tuberculosis were examined through bivariate logistic regressions. Results: A greater percentage of male HIV-positive participants (68%) reported current tobacco use in comparison to male HIV-negative respondents (58%) and female HIV-positive (12%) and negative (11%) participants. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that there was a positive correlation between male respondents’ HIV-status and their propensity to use tobacco (OR=1.48, CI=1.05-2.1, P<.05) when controlled for extraneous variables. Results from ordinal regression analyses illustrated that male HIV-positive respondents had a two-fold increased odds ratio of smoking 20 or more cigarettes (OR=2.1, CI=1.4-3.2, P<.005). Finally, there was a positive association between being HIV-infected (AOR=4.6, CI=2.02-10.6, P<.005), smoking 15-19 cigarettes (AOR= 2.11, CI=1.1-4.1, P<.05) and male participants’ TB-status. Conclusions: Results in this paper suggest HIV-positive men in India were not only significantly more likely to consume tobacco, but they also smoked a higher number of cigarettes compared to their HIV-negative counterparts. This is a cause for concern as our analyses revealed a possible association between the number of cigarettes smoked and TB-status.