Multivitamin Supplements Delay Progression of HIV Among Women
Provide effective low-cost means to slow need
for antiretroviral drug therapy
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Boston, MA— A simple daily regimen of multivitamins can significantly delay
the progress of the AIDS virus according to the results of a study of HIV
infected women in Tanzania. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health
and the Muhimbili University College of Health Services in Dar es Salaam, found
that women taking multivitamins (vitamins B-complex, C and E) significantly
delayed the progression of HIV disease compared to those in the study who
received the placebo. The study results appear in the
By the end of 2003, 40 million people worldwide were infected with HIV, with fewer than 8 percent of the 6 million patients with advanced symptoms of the disease who were eligible for antiretroviral drug therapy receiving it. The “Treat 3 million by 2005” initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) is designed to increase access to treatment. According to this plan, and country-specific standards of care, individuals with advanced disease will receive antiretroviral therapy, while those in earlier stages will be monitored and provided supportive care.
The researchers randomly assigned 1,078 HIV-infected pregnant
women in
During the course of the study 299 of the 1078 women either died from AIDS-related causes or progressed to WHO stage 4 (equivalent to AIDS): Among the 271 women who received multivitamins, 67 (24.7 percent) progressed to WHO stage 4 or died of AIDS-related causes; among women who received multivitamins with vitamin A the total was 70 (26.1 (percent) of the 268; for those who received vitamin A alone it was 79 (29 percent) and of 272 who received the placebo it was 83 (31.1 percent) who progressed to WHO stage 4 or died from AIDS-related causes. Additionally, women in the study who took multivitamins had higher CD4 immune cell counts, lower viral loads, and reduced complications of HIV infection including oral thrush, oral ulcers, difficulty in swallowing, diarrhea and fatigue.
“Our findings should encourage the use of multivitamin
supplements as supportive care to those infected with HIV. As antiretroviral
therapy becomes available in less developed countries many HIV-infected persons
will be identified who do not meet the international guidelines for initiation
of therapy. Our data suggest that multivitamins delay the onset of disease
progression and thus extend the time until such therapy is necessary.” said
Wafaie Fawzi, lead author of the study and associate professor of nutrition and
epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He added, “Multivitamin
supplementation is inexpensive, $15 per person per year. Introducing these
supplements would enhance compliance with monitoring prior to clinical
eligibility for antiretroviral drugs, preserve these drugs for later stages of
the disease, avert adverse events associated with them, and result in better
quality of life among HIV infected persons and significant treatment-related
cost savings.”
The study was supported in part by the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development and the
For further information, please contact:
Kevin Myron
Office of Communications
Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-432-3952
Email: kmyron@hsph.harvard.edu