Studies on Vitamin D Levels in Serum of HIV Infected Patients: Their Effect on Progression towards AIDS

Vitamin D deficiency may be more prevalent among HIV-positive patients than in the general population due to HIV disease-related factors. This study examined the effects of HIV infection and use of antiretroviral drugs in serum vitamin D levels in HIV patients visiting Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi Kenya from October 2013 to April 2014. The effect of vitamin D status on CD4 cell count and HIV viral load was evaluated to determine the status of disease progression to AIDS. HIV viral load in blood samples was determined using COBAS Ampliprep/TaqMan HIV-1 test kit while CD4 cell counts were done using the fluorescence-activated cell sorter system. The levels of vitamin D in serum were determined using electrochemiluminescence binding assay in Cobas E601 mass analyzers. In addition, selected plasma enzymes were used to evaluate liver function. Higher percentage (49.12%) of deficient vitamin D cases were observed among HIV patients not on ART. Deficient levels of Vitamin D were associated with abnormal selected liver enzymes. High viral load was observed among patients not on ART with deficient and insufficient vitamin D. The CD4 cell count was higher in patients on ART with sufficient vitamin D levels compared to those with deficient vitamin D. These observations suggest a need to supplement ART with vitamin D in order to ameliorate Vitamin D deficiency as a strategy to improve HIV management.