Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Jun 1;197(11):1499-505.
doi: 10.1086/587846.

A trial of the effect of micronutrient supplementation on treatment outcome, T cell counts, morbidity, and mortality in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis

Eduardo Villamor  1 , Ferdinand Mugusi, Willy Urassa, Ronald J Bosch, Elmar Saathoff, Kenji Matsumoto, Simin N Meydani, Wafaie W Fawzi
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A trial of the effect of micronutrient supplementation on treatment outcome, T cell counts, morbidity, and mortality in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis

Eduardo Villamor et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) often coincides with nutritional deficiencies. The effects of micronutrient supplementation on TB treatment outcomes, clinical complications, and mortality are uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of micronutrients (vitamins A, B complex, C, and E, as well as selenium) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We enrolled 471 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and 416 HIV-negative adults with pulmonary TB at the time of initiating chemotherapy and monitored them for a median of 43 months.

Results: Micronutrients decreased the risk ofTB recurrence by 45% overall (95% confidence interval [CI], 7% to 67%; P = .02) and by 63% in HIV-infected patients (95% CI, 8% to 85%; P = .02). There were no significant effects on mortality overall; however, we noted a marginally significant 64% reduction of deaths in HIV-negative subjects (95% CI, -14% to 88%; P = .08). Supplementation increased CD3+ and CD4+ cell counts and decreased the incidence of extrapulmonary TB and genital ulcers in HIV-negative patients. Micronutrients reduced the incidence of peripheral neuropathy by 57% (95% CI, 41% to 69%; P < .001), irrespective of HIV status. There were no significant effects on weight gain, body composition, anemia, or HIV load.

Conclusions: Micronutrient supplementation could improve the outcome in patients undergoing TB chemotherapy in Tanzania.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00197704.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest: none reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial profile. AFB, acid-fast bacilli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global tuberculosis control: surveillance, planning, financing. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2007.
    1. Harries AD, Hargreaves NJ, Kemp J, et al. Deaths from tuberculosis in sub-Saharan African countries with a high prevalence of HIV-1. Lancet. 2001;357:1519–23. - PubMed
    1. Korenromp EL, Scano F, Williams BG, Dye C, Nunn P. Effects of human immunodeficiency virus infection on recurrence of tuberculosis after rifampin-based treatment: an analytical review. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;37:101–12. - PubMed
    1. van Lettow M, Fawzi WW, Semba RD. Triple trouble: the role of malnutrition in tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection. Nutr Rev. 2003;61:81–90. - PubMed
    1. Villamor E, Fawzi WW. Effects of vitamin a supplementation on immune responses and correlation with clinical outcomes. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18:446–64. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data