Effect of Vitamin-D, Zinc and Copper Supplementation in HIV-Positive Pregnant Women and Co-Relation with CD4 Counts- A Double Blinded Placebo Controlled Study

TITLE Effect of vitamin-D, zinc and copper supplementation in HIV-positive pregnant women and co-relation with CD4 counts- a randomized double blinded placebo controlled study. BACKGROUND The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin D, zinc and copper supplementation in HIV-positive pregnant women and its c0-relation with CD4 counts. METHODS A total of 195 HIV-positive pregnant women were selected from the antenatal clinic of Silchar medical college, Silchar. At their 1st visit (booking visit), the baseline levels of vitamin D, zinc and copper were estimated along with routine antenatal tests the patients. They were randomized into four groups, one of which received vitamin-D, 2nd one zinc and 3rd one copper supplementation. The 4th control group received placebo. The CD4 counts were determined at 36 weeks of gestation and 6 weeks after delivery. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square and Mann-whitney tests and the relation ships between supplementation of vitamin-D, copper and zinc on CD4 levels were analyzed and conclusions were drawn. RESULTS vitamin D, zinc and copper supplementation produced significant improvement in CD4 counts in all three groups as evidenced by higher CD4 counts in all three groups compared to the control. The greatest effect was obtained with vitamin-D supplementation. Zinc and copper appear to be less important than vitamin-D. Conclusion, In this study, supplementation of vitamin D, copper and zinc were significantly associated with improvement in mean CD4 counts. CD4 counts denote the level of immunity of the patient and their levels are used to determine the severity and stage of the disease.