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Vitamin D supplements may help to reduce HIV infection, mortality rates among children
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Vitamin D supplementation may be a cheap, effective way to help reduce HIV infection rates and infant mortality in resource-limited regions, according to results of a recent study.
The observational analysis involved 884 pregnant women with HIV who were participating in a vitamin supplementation trial in Tanzania. The women were monitored to evaluate pregnancy outcomes and child mortality. The researchers analyzed these outcomes along with maternal vitamin D status upon enrollment.
There was no association between maternal vitamin D status and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight and preterm birth.
A low vitamin D level was defined as <32 ng/mL.
Multivariate analysis demonstrated that low maternal vitamin D levels were associated with a 50% higher risk (95% CI, 2%-120%) of vertical transmission of HIV at six weeks and a two-fold higher risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breast-feeding among children who did not have HIV at six weeks (95% CI, 1.08-3.82). Low vitamin D levels also were associated with a 46% higher overall risk of HIV infection (95% CI, 11%-91%).
There was a 61% higher risk of dying during follow-up among children born to women with low vitamin D levels (95% CI, 25%-107%).
The researchers wrote that randomized trials to determine the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in preventing HIV infection and infant mortality should be conducted.
Mehta S et al. J Infect Dis. 2009;200:1022-1030.