Research paper
Vitamin D3 supplementation during pregnancy and lactation for women living with HIV in Tanzania: A randomized controlled trial
Study answer
What this study found
Vitamin D3 supplementation did not improve the main maternal or infant outcomes. Maternal HIV progression or death occurred in 166/1,148 vs 141/1,151 women (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.52; p = 0.09), small-for-gestational-age birth was 21.4% vs 21.6% (relative risk 1.03, 0.87 to 1.22; p = 0.70), and infant stunting at 1 year was 46.9% vs 47.4% (relative risk 1.00, 0.92 to 1.10; p = 0.95). Vitamin D3 increased maternal and infant 25(OH)D concentrations and did not increase maternal hypercalcemia. Secondary findings suggested possible increases in preterm birth (26.2% vs 22.1%;…
- Study & population
- Randomized, placebo-controlled trial among pregnant women living with HIV in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, recruited from 5 public antenatal care clinics and followed through 12 months postpartum.
- Intervention
- Daily oral vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) 3,000 IU was started at randomization in the second trimester and continued through pregnancy, lactation, and until 1 year postpartum.
- Key limitation
- The trial showed no benefit on the prespecified primary outcomes, and some secondary findings were based on post hoc analyses, increasing the likelihood of chance findings.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background Observational studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency among people living with HIV is associated with a greater risk of disease progression and death. Low levels of vitamin D in pregnancy are also associated with poor fetal and infant gr…