Diet Quality, Food Insecurity and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases Among Adults Living with Hiv/Aids: A Scoping Review

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy reduced HIV mortality, but was followed by increased comorbidities, including hypertension and dyslipidemia. A higher quality diet can delay the onset of comorbidities related to HIV infection. Diet quality measures are not established among People Living with HIV (PLWH). This review identified the diet quality and food insecurity indices used among PLWH and their associations with risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We used recommendations from Arksey and O’Malley, the Joanna Briggs Institute’s manual, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A preliminary search was conducted on MEDLINE to develop a comprehensive search strategy. The final search was conducted on PubMed, EbscoHost, Scopus, Web of Science and COCHRANE library databases, and review conducted by two independent reviewers. Of 1094 retrieved records, 46 passed full text screening. Forty-two were cross-sectional, thirteen in the United States. Seven studies assessed food security; all indicated a high level of food insecurity. One study used the Healthy Eating Index, and six used Mediterranean Diet Score to assess diet quality with varying outcomes. Other studies compared dietary intake with various dietary guidelines. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia were the most reported risk for CVD, with varying degrees of association with diet. Diet quality is not widely explored among PLWH, studies assessing this use heterogenous methods making it difficult to compare and summarize findings. There is evidence of association between diet and CVD among PLWH, but we need standardized methods to study this association.