Special nutritional requirements for people living with HIV/AIDS

Key take-home messages

• The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamins and minerals, as defined by the US Food and Nutrition Board30, is most often not sufficient for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs).
• In comparison with HIV-negative individuals, PHAs have lower serum levels of the following micronutrients: zinc, magnesium, iron, selenium, prealbumin, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, B-6, and B-12 Vitamins.
• Findings from several studies suggest that there is an association between low serum levels of these nutrients and faster disease progression to AIDS.
• Supplementation of vitamins and minerals has been found to slow disease progression significantly in some studies.
• However, other studies have stated that is unclear if supplementation with micronutrients has any measurable impact on the progression of HIV disease.
• Malnutrition should be detected, treated and monitored early, in order to improve a PHA’s chances of survival and their quality of life.
• Data from the literature cannot be used to develop specific evidence based dietary guidelines for micronutrients because of methodological limitations in several studies.

• Population(s)
  • General HIV+ population