Effect of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on CD4 T Cell levels of Clinically Stable HIV Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy; A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection produces a chronic and potentially fatal disease of the immune system. In the pre HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) era, micronutrient supplementation was associated with improvement in the immune status of HIV infected individuals but in the post HAART era, this association has been unclear with conflicting results. Objective: To determine the effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation on the CD4 T cell levels of clinically stable HIV patients on HAART for at least one year. Methods: A randomized cross over intervention trial was used to determine the CD4 T cell effect of a 12 week daily consumption of multiple micronutrient supplement on 50 clinically stable HIV infected participants receiving treatment from the Imo State University Teaching Hospital. The participants were purposively selected based on certain inclusion criteria and were randomized into two groups to receive the supplement at different periods after a washout period. CD4 T cell measurements were taken at baseline, 12, 20 and 32 weeks. Results: The mean age of the participants studied was 43.8±10.8 years with an average duration on HAART of 3.2±1.5 years. At baseline, 55.3% of the participants were severely immunodeficient, 51.1% were either overweight or obese and 45% were hypertensive. The intervention results, revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in CD4 T cell count levels with micronutrient supplementation compared to no supplementation [t=0.78, p=0.438]. Conclusion: Micronutrient supplementation in the post HAART era especially in patients on long term HAART appear not to have any significant effect on the CD4 T cell counts.