Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in a cohort of Omani AIDS patients who are presented at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) for treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to investigate if there is a significant correlation between vitamin D deficiency and age, gender, type of treatment and the CD4+ T cells count.
Methods: Data of 63 Omani AIDS patients (31 males and 32 females) including subjects’ age, sex, type of drug used and CD4+ T cells were collected using SQU-Hospital Information System. The subjects’ ages were between the ranges of 18-70 years, with a mean age of 38 years. Serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was measured using standard ELISA. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as the level of 25(OH)D less than 30 nmol/L. Data analysis and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was calculated using SPSS software.
Results: Out of the 63 Omani AIDS patients, 44 (70%) were 25(OH)D deficient. Most of these deficient patients were females with percentage of 78.1% versus 61.3% for males. The frequency of 25(OH)D deficiency was detected more in patients younger than 30 years of age (11/12, 92%). Patients who received HARRT treatment had higher odd of vitamin D deficiency than untreated patients. A total of 29 and 21 patients received non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) and protease inhibitors (PI), respectively, and were found to be vitamin D deficient (P = 0.870). No significant correlation between the serum concentration of 25(OH)D and CD4+ T cells count was observed.
Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of 25(OH)D deficiency amongst Omani AIDS patients. The deficiency of 25(OH)D was more prevalent among females than males. No correlation between vitamin D level and the use of HAART was detected.
Abstract