Alternative Health Blog

In a follow-up study involving 884 HIV-infected pregnant women, results indicate that vitamin D status may be inversely associated with disease progression, anemia and all-cause mortality. The women were followed up for a median of 69.5 months. Low vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D<32 ng/mL) was significantly associated with progression to WHO HIV disease stage III or greater. Additionally, women with low vitamin D status showed a 46% increased risk of developing anemia compared to women with adequate vitamin D status. Additionally, women in the highest quintile of vitamin D status showed a 42% reduced risk of all-cause mortality. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "If confirmed in randomized trials, vitamin D supplementation could represent a simple and inexpensive method to prolonging the time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients, particularly in resource-limited settings."
 
Reference:
"Vitamin D status of HIV-infected women and its association with HIV disease progression, anemia, and mortality," Mehta S, Fawzi WW, et al, PLoS One, 2010; 5(1): e8770.