Effectiveness of a multivitamin supplementation program among HIV-infected adults in Tanzania.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a routine multivitamin supplementation program for adults living with HIV in Tanzania. DESIGN:We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 67?707 adults enrolled in the Dar es Salaam HIV care and treatment program during 2004-2012. METHODS:The Dar es Salaam HIV care and treatment program intended to provide all adult patients with multivitamin supplements (vitamins B-complex, C, and E) free of charge; however, intermittent stockouts and other implementation issues did not afford universal coverage. We use Cox proportional hazard models to assess the time-varying association of multivitamin supplementation with mortality and clinical outcomes. RESULTS:The study cohort contributed 41?540 and 129?315 person-years of follow-up time to the antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive and ART-experienced analyses, respectively. Among 48?207 ART-naive adults, provision of multivitamins reduced the risk of mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59-0.81], incident tuberculosis (TB) (aHR: 0.83; 0.76-0.91), and meeting ART eligibility criteria (aHR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.73-0.83) after adjustment for time-varying confounding. Among 46?977 ART-experienced patients, multivitamins reduced mortality (hazard ratio: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.80-0.92), incident TB (aHR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.73-0.84), and immunologic failure (aHR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.67-0.73). The survival benefits associated with provision multivitamins appeared to be greatest during the first year of ART and declined over time (P value <0.001). CONCLUSION:Multivitamin supplementation appears to be a simple, effective, safe, and scalable program to improve survival, reduce incidence of TB, and improve treatment outcomes for adult HIV patients in Tanzania.
SUBMITTER: Sudfeld CR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6599688 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
ACCESS DATA