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Published on: July 24, 2013
Vitamin D deficiency and altered bone mineral metabolism in HIV-infected individuals
Allison Ross Eckard1, Grace A McComsey
1Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA, across3@emory.edu.
Insights
Vitamin D deficiency is common in people with HIV and linked to serious health issues like osteoporosis and heart disease. More research, especially clinical trials, is needed to understand this link.
Area of Science:
- Internal Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Combination antiretroviral therapy has improved longevity for HIV patients.
- Chronic HIV infection is associated with increased comorbidities, including osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and immune dysfunction.
- Vitamin D status is known to influence these comorbidities in the general population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent data on vitamin D deficiency in HIV-infected patients.
- To highlight the association between vitamin D deficiency and HIV-related complications.
- To underscore the need for further research, particularly randomized controlled trials.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent observational and cohort studies.
- Analysis of data linking vitamin D status to HIV-related comorbidities.
- Identification of gaps in randomized, placebo-controlled trial data.
Main Results:
- A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is observed in HIV-infected patients.
- Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased rates of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and immune dysfunction in this population.
- Limited randomized, placebo-controlled trial data exists.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin D deficiency is an alarming issue in HIV-infected individuals.
- The association between vitamin D deficiency and HIV-related complications warrants further investigation.
- More robust clinical trials are necessary to establish causality and guide interventions.
Abstract:
Although patients with HIV infection are living decades longer than before with the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy, they have an increased rate of co-morbidities associated with chronic HIV, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and immune dysfunction. Many of these complications are known to be affected by vitamin D status in the general population. Thus, the high rate of vitamin D deficiency among HIV-infected patients is alarming. Many observational and cohort studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is associated with these HIV-related complications, but randomized, placebo-controlled trials are limited. This paper reviews recent data on vitamin D deficiency in HIV infection.
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