Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Micronutrient deficiencies in people living with HIV (PLHIV) have been reported. Multivitamins can be used to address micronutrient deficiencies, however the benefits of multivitamins on health outcomes of PLHIV remain debateable. While some studies have reported the benefits of multivitamins in PLHIV, other studies have reported non-significant differences in outcomes of interest in control and multivitamin groups. With obvious differences in strength and composition of multivitamins used in the different studies, it is possible that the intervention (multivitamins) used for some of these studies may not have been dosed high enough to meet the level of micronutrient deficiencies in study participants resulting in nonsignificant results. It is possible that higher strength multivitamins may better meet existing micronutrient deficiencies resulting in better health outcomes in PLHIV. Hence we are currently conducting a double blind randomized controlled study in Lagos, Nigeria to compare three multivitamins. • Multivitamin A: Contains 7 micronutrients at recommended daily allowance (RDA) • Multivitamin B: Contains 22 micronutrients at RDA • Multivitamin C: Contains 22 micronutrients at 3times the RDA The aim of this six months study is to determine if any of the three multivitamins will produce better health outcomes in study participants. Participants are HIV positive children aged 5 – 12 years. Primary outcome is changes in CD4 count, and secondary outcomes are changes in serum selenium and zinc levels. Baseline and midpoint samples have been collected and are being analysed. Final samples will be collected from December 2015 – January 2016.

Biography

Regina Esiovwa Ahumareze is an experienced Pharmacist with a Distinction in Drug Discovery (MSc) from the School of Pharmacy, University of London. She worked for several years as the Superintendent Pharmacist at a reputable Nutraceutical company in Nigeria and she is particularly interested in the role of Nutraceuticals in disease prevention. Regina Esiovwa Ahumareze is the recipient of many awards including the Niger Delta Development Scholarship Award, the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Award and the Delta State Scholarship Award. She is currently a PhD Researcher at the University of the West of Scotland.

Email: regina.esiovwa@uws.ac.uk