More recently, researchers in Thailand showed that a low-cost

More recently, researchers in Thailand showed that a low-cost multivitamin and mineral supplement improved the survival of HIV positive people who were not taking HAART. As reported in the November 21, 2003 issue of AIDS, Sukhum Jiamton, MD, and colleagues conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which nearly 500 HIV positive individuals with CD4 cell counts of 50-550 cells/mm³ were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a supplement containing 12 vitamins, eight minerals, and the amino acid cysteine twice daily. After 48 weeks, about twice as many people died in the placebo arm compared with the supplement arm (15 vs 8 deaths); among those with baseline CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm³, the mortality rate was significantly lower in the supplement arm. On the other hand, an earlier study in Zambia found that multivitamin supplementation had no effect on CD4 cell count or mortality.

In the July 1, 2004 New England Journal of Medicine, Wafaie Fawzi, DrPH, from Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues reported on a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which 1,078 HIV positive pregnant women in Tanzania received either daily supplements of vitamin A; a multivitamin supplement containing vitamins B, C, and E; or both. After a median follow-up of 71 months, 67 out of 271 women (24.7%) who received the multivitamin either died or progressed to advanced HIV disease (stage IV as defined by the World Health Organization), compared with 83 out of 267 women (31.1%) who received the placebo. Women in the multivitamin arm -- but not those receiving vitamin A alone -- also had significantly lower HIV viral load, higher CD4 and CD8 cell counts, and improved birth outcomes.