Introduction: The scale‐up of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to a significant improvement in survival of the HIV‐positive patient but its effects on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) are less known and context‐dependent. Our aim was to assess the temporal changes and factors associated with HRQOL among HIV‐positive adults initiating HAART in Burkina Faso.Methods: HIV‐positive people initiating HAART were prospectively included and followed over a one‐year period in three HIV clinics of Ouagadougou. HRQOL was assessed at baseline and at each follow‐up visit using physical (PHS) and mental (MHS) summary scores derived from the Medical Outcome Study 36‐Item short‐form health survey (MOS SF‐36) questionnaire. Toxicity related to HAART modification and self‐reported symptoms were recorded during follow‐up visits. Determinants associated with baseline and changes in both scores over a one‐year period were assessed using a mixed linear model.Results: A total of 344 patients were included. Their median age at baseline was 37 years [interquartile range (IQR) 30–44] and their median CD4 count was 181 cells/mm³ (IQR 97–269). The mean [standard deviation (SD)] PHS score increased from 45.4 (11.1) at baseline to 60.0 (3.1) at 12 months (p<10⁻⁴) and the mean (SD) MHS score from 42.2 (8.7) to 43.9 (3.4) (p<10⁻²). After one year of treatment, patients that experienced on average two symptoms during follow‐up presented with significantly lower PHS (63.9) and MHS (43.8) scores compared to patients that presented no symptoms with PHS and MHS of 68.2 (p<10⁻⁴) and 45.3 (p<10⁻³), respectively.Discussion: The use of HAART was associated with a significant increase in both physical and mental aspects of the HRQOL over a 12‐month period in this urban African population. Perceived symptoms experienced during follow‐up visits were associated with a significant impairment in HRQOL. The appropriate and timely management of reported symptoms during the follow‐up of HAART‐treated patients is a key component to restore HRQOL.

The temporal relationship between length (linear) and weight (ponderal) growth in early life is important to support optimal nutrition program design. Studies based on measures of attained size have established that wasting often precedes stunting, but such studies do not capture responsiveness of growth to previous compared with current conditions. As a result, the temporality of linear and ponderal growth relationships remain unclear. We used growth velocity indicators to assess the temporal bidirectional relationships between linear and ponderal growth in children. Using monthly anthropometric measurements from 5039 Burkinabè children enrolled at 6 months of age and followed until 28 months from August 2014 to December 2016, we employed multilevel mixed-effects models to investigate concurrent and lagged associations between linear and ponderal growth velocity, controlling for time trends, seasonality, and morbidity. Faster ponderal growth is associated with faster concurrent and subsequent linear growth (0.21–0.72 increase in length velocity z-score per unit increase in weight velocity z-score), while faster linear growth is associated with slower future weight gain (0.009–0.02 decrease in weight velocity z-score per unit increase in length velocity z-score), especially among children 9–14 months. Ponderal growth slows around the same time as peaks in morbidity, followed roughly a month later by slower linear growth. Use of velocity measures to assess temporal dependencies between linear and ponderal growth demonstrate that the same growth-limiting conditions likely affect both length and weight velocity, that slow ponderal growth likely limits subsequent linear growth, and that linear growth spurts may not be accompanied by sufficient increases in dietary intake to avoid slowdowns in weight gain.

Background: We compared the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle factors between the hypertensive adults who were aware and unaware of their hypertensive status and assessed the factors associated with being aware of one’s hypertension among adults in Burkina Faso. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the World Health Organization Stepwise approach to surveillance survey conducted in 2013 in Burkina Faso. Lifestyle factors analysed were fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption, tooth cleaning, alcohol and tobacco use, body mass index and physical activity. Results: Among 774 adults living with hypertension, 84.9% (95% CI: 82.2–87.3) were unaware of their hypertensive status. The frequencies of unhealthy lifestyle practices in those aware vs. unaware were respectively: 92.3% vs. 96.3%, p = 0.07 for not eating, at least, five FV servings daily; 63.2% vs. 70.5%, p = 0.12 for not cleaning the teeth at least twice a day; 35.9% vs. 42.3%, p = 0.19 for tobacco and/or alcohol use; 53.9% vs. 25.4%, p = 0.0001 for overweight/obesity and 17.1% vs, 10.3%, p = 0.04 for physical inactivity. In logistic regression analysis, older age, primary or higher education, being overweight/obese [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.2; p < 0.0001], intake of adequate FV servings daily (aOR = 2.9; p = 0.023) and non-use of alcohol and tobacco (aOR = 0.6; p = 0.028) were associated with being aware of one’s hypertensive status. Conclusion: Undiagnosed hypertension was very high among Burkinabè adults living with hypertension. Those aware of their hypertension diagnosis did not necessarily practise healthier lifestyles than those not previously aware of their hypertension. Current control programmes should aim to improve hypertension awareness and promote risk reduction behaviour.

Linear growth faltering is determined primarily by attained heights in infancy, but available data consist mainly of cross-sectional heights at each age. This study used longitudinal data to test whether faltering occurs episodically in a few months of very low growth, which could potentially be prevented by timely intervention, or is a chronic condition with slower growth in every month of infancy and early childhood. Using anthropometric data collected monthly between August 2014 and December 2016, we investigated individual growth curves of 5039 children ages 6–27 mo in Burkina Faso (108,580 observations). We evaluated growth-curve smoothness by level of attained length at ∼27 mo by analyzing variation in changes in monthly growth rates and using 2-stage regressions: 1) regressing each child's length on their age and extracting R² to represent curve smoothness, initial length, and average velocity by age; and 2) regressing extracted parameters on individual-level attained length. Short children started smaller and remained on their initial trajectories, continuously growing slower than taller children. Growth between 9 and 11 mo was the most influential on attained length; for each 1-cm/mo increase in growth velocity during this period, attained length increased by 6.71 cm (95% CI: 6.59, 6.83 cm). Furthermore, a 0.01 increase in R² from individual regression of length on age was associated with a 3.10-cm higher attained length (95% CI: 2.80, 3.41 cm), and having 2 consecutive months of slow growth (<15^th centile relative to the sample) was associated with 1.7-cm lower attained length (95% CI: −1.80, −1.59 cm), with larger effects in younger children, suggesting that smoother growth patterns were also associated with higher attained length. Children who experience extreme growth faltering are likely less resilient to systematic growth-limiting conditions as well as episodic insults to their growth. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02071563.

Objectives: To study the factors associated with stunted physical growth in primary school children and adolescents in the Burkina Faso Sahel. Materials and methods: This was a secondary analysis of the data from the survey conducted by the Directorate of Nutrition in June 2016 in 13 primary schools. The baseline study was conducted from May 15 to 24, 2016. This secondary analysis of the database took place from March to August 2017. The study participants were made up of male and female students from public primary schools and who were beneficiaries of the school canteens of the Dori municipality at the time of the survey. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with a 5% significance level. Results: The analysis involved a sample of 568 students aged 5 to 15 years. Girls accounted for 52% of students. The prevalence of stunting was 32.92% (95% CI [29-36%]), it was 28.93% (95 % CI [23.84-34.62%]) among boys and 36.61 % (95% CI [31.28-42.28%]) in girls. Among primary students, age (ORa = 4.38, P = 0.00), anemia (ORa = 0.24, P = 0.01) and latrine use (ORa = 0.58 with P = 0.02) were the factors statistically associated with stunting (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of stunting among primary school students in the commune of Dori remains high. Associated factors were age, anemia and latrine use. Promotion of latrine use in households and prevention of anemia in children under 5 years of age would be necessary for the reduction of stunting among adolescents.

Despite WHO recommendations to reduce the global prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age by 2025, anemia remains a truly global public health problem, especially among pregnant women. The objective of our study was to examine the relationship between anemia and the place of residence in pregnant women. This cross-sectional study was conducted in six health facilities between December 2018 and March 2019. Anemia was diagnosed using HemoCue HB 301 and a hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dl was classified as anemic. Adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed to examine relation between anemia and the place of residence in pregnant women. A total of 1027 pregnant women were included in the study. The average age of females nant women need to be strengthened in rural areas.