Antioxidant Micronutrients Intake in People Living with HIV: Implications on Serum Levels and Liver Function
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Date
OCTOBER, 2017
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Abstract
The Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and antiretroviral (ARV) drugs
are known to cause oxidative stress which has the tendency to cause damage to body
organs such as the liver, affecting their functions. Antioxidants are important to prevent
oxidative stress or mitigate it. Even though some of these antioxidants can be acquired
from the diet, there is insufficient data about their intakes among PLWH in Ghana. This
study therefore sought to assess the intakes of these antioxidant nutrients and the serum
levels of two of them, vitamin E and zinc and their possible effect on liver function of
people living with HIV (PLWH) attending Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clinic at the
Volta Regional Hospital in Ho. To achieve this, 103 HIV infected adults on
antiretroviral therapy were randomly sampled from a list of possible participants. A 3-
day 24hr recall and a food frequency questionnaire were employed to assess vitamins
A, C, E and zinc as well as energy, carbohydrates, fats and proteins intakes. Serum
levels of vitamin E and zinc as well as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine
aminotransferase (ALT) were measured. Weight and height were measured and BMI
calculated. Pre HAART levels of AST and ALT as well as ARV drug intake history
were also acquired from hospital records. The results showed that participants had
lower median caloric (1680Kcal) and fat (54g) intakes. Median daily dietary intakes of
vitamins C, D and E were 54mg, 2μg and 3mg respectively and were lower than
recommended intake levels. Serum vitamin E deficiency was observed to be high
among the participants (82.5%). The prevalence of underweight, overweight and
obesity in the study were 11.7%, 21.4% and 11.7% respectively. There was a
significant rise in serum AST levels, from 22.0 IU/L pre HAART to 30.4 IU/L post
HAART initiation. Serum levels of ALT significantly decreased from 17.0 IU/L pre-
HAART to 13.0 IU/L post-HAART. There was no association between the serum
levels of vitamin E and zinc and serum AST and ALT levels. The findings from this
study suggest that, serum levels of antioxidant micronutrients, vitamin E and zinc, did
not have any effect on liver function.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy Degree in
Human Nutrition and Dietetics