The Role of Multivitamins in Pediatric HIV Management in Nigeria

Micronutrient deficiencies in people living with HIV have been reported. Multivitamins can address micronutrient deficiencies, however the benefits of multivitamins in people living with HIV is still debatable. While some multivitamin intervention studies have reported the benefits of multivitamins in HIV infection, some other studies have reported no statistical differences in outcomes of interest in intervention and control groups. With clear differences in composition and strength of the multivitamins used in the different studies, it is possible that some of the multivitamins used in some of the intervention studies may have been unable to meet existing micronutrient deficiencies. Hence there is a chance that higher strength multivitamins may be better able to correct these deficiencies and result in better outcomes. This study will therefore compare three different multivitamins varying in strength and composition to determine if any one of the three multivitamins will produce better health outcomes.