Micronutritional supplements, particularly multivitamins that contain selenium, might increase the vaginal shedding of HIV in women, boosting the risk that they could transmit the virus to their sex partners, notes a study in the December 15 edition of Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
Researchers studied more than 350 HIV-positive women in Kenya, 179 of whom were given micronutrient supplements that included multivitamin and mineral pills. At the six-week point of the study the researchers recorded a 2.5-fold greater likelihood of developing detectable levels of HIV in vaginal secretions among the women taking the vitamin and mineral supplements and also noted a higher vaginal viral load in these study subjects.
Supplement users also were more likely, however, to have posted better increases in CD4-cell levels. HIV viral levels were unaffected.
