ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of studies that have focused on nutrition, with an emphasis on vitamin A, in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Nutrients, especially vitamins, have a profound impact on immunity and HIV infection progression and can help support host recovery from side effects of Antiretroviral therapy (ART). Vitamin A administration influences the course of disease in adults, children, and pregnant women, as well as in mouse models in laboratory settings. The chapter discusses laboratory studies, animal studies, observational studies, randomized controlled trials, and vitamin A interactions with ART. Many animal studies, using mice and rats, have been conducted to better understand the effects of nutrition on HIV-related outcomes. Increasingly, observational studies focus on vitamin A status as a predictor of a range of outcomes, including HIV-related morbidity measurements, gynecological infections among HIV-infected women, metabolic syndrome symptoms among HIV- infected adults receiving ART, and mortality among HIV-infected children.
