Physicians are a key to encouraging cessation of smoking among people living with HIV/AIDS: a cross-sectional study in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Table 1 Background characteristics of participants (N = 321)

Characteristic	n^a	(%)
Sociodemographics
Gender
Male	137	(57.3)
Female	184	(42.7)
Age (years)
20-29	78	(34.2)
30-39	165	(47.0)
40-60	76	(18.8)
Current marital status
Unmarried	101	(31.5)
Married	220	(68.5)
Education level^b
No formal education	58	(18.6)
Primary (1-5 yrs.)	68	(21.9)
Lower secondary (6-10 yrs.)	156	(50.2)
Higher secondary and above (11+ yrs.)	29	(9.3)
Monthly income (NRs)^c (Median = 4000)
0	89	(28.3)
200-4000	80	(25.4)
4001-300000	146	(46.3)
Any children
No	102	(31.8)
Yes	219	(68.2)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	319	(99.4)
Homo- or bi-sexual	2	(0.6)
Clinical and psychosocial characteristics
Months since first testing HIV+ (Median = 53)
1-53	158	(50.0)
54+	158	(50.0)
Months on ART (Median = 24)
Not currently on ART	87	(27.2)
1-24	129	(40.3)
25+	104	(32.5)
Experience of TB diagnosis since testing HIV+
No	236	(73.5)
Yes	85	(26.5)
Bothersome HIV symptom count (Median = 3)
0-3	173	(53.9)
4-20	148	(46.1)
Smoking status
Never smoker	129	(40.2)
Former smoker	40	(12.5)
Current smoker	152	(47.4)
Injection drug use history^d
Never user	191	(60.1)
Former user	100	(31.4)
Current user	27	(8.5)
Alcohol use, last 30 days
No	281	(87.5)
Yes	40	(12.5)
Marijuana use, last 6 months
No	290	(90.3)
Yes	31	(9.7)
Internalized AIDS stigma score (Median = 4)
0-4	187	(58.3)
5-7	134	(41.7)
Beck Depression Inventory score^e
< 20	239	(74.5)
20+	82	(25.5)

NRs, Nepalese Rupees. ART, antiretroviral therapy.
^a Total sample size varies due to missing data.
^b Based on the structure of the Nepalese education system.
^c 4000 NRs = US $55 approximately, as of February 2010.
^d Former users: participants reporting a lifetime history of injecting drug use but no use in the last 6 months classified. Current users: participants reporting injecting drug use in the last 6 months. Never users: participants reporting no lifetime history of injecting drug use. Three participants who indicated a lifetime history of injecting drug use did not respond to the question regarding 6-month use and hence could not be distinguished as former or current users.
^e A score of 20 or more on the Beck Depression Inventory defined the presence of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, based on clinical validation of the scale in Nepal (sensitivity = 0.73, specificity = 0.91) [48].

ISSN: 1471-2458