Effectiveness of nutritional intervention on immunity of people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review

An enormous progress has been made in the modality of treatment in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. In order to develop cure and enhance immune levels of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), major researches are being conducted across the globe. Nutritional intervention studies have been also conducted widely over a period of time to improve immune status of people living with HIV/AIDS, but concrete evidences in this regard are still lacking. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of selected nutritional interventions (zinc) on immunity of people living with HIV/AIDS. Search methods and selection criteria included randomized controlled trials investigating nutritional interventions, particularly with zinc. The effect of zinc on immune status of PLHIV was assessed. An extensive search from online databases, such as ProQuest, PubMed, Cochrane, and Science Direct was conducted from April 28, 2022 to May 28, 2022. Three reviewers independently screened and selected studies for inclusion. Cumulative sample size was 1,329 studies. After screening with PEDro scale and PRISMA reporting, five papers were considered to derive a consensus on the effect of zinc on immune status of PLHIV. As included studies were diverse in nature, meta-analysis was not possible to perform. Four studies revealed that zinc supplementation was not effective in enhancing immune system of PLHIV, whereas one study showed that zinc supplementation was effective in boosting immune level of PLHIV. In conclusion, zinc supplementation is beneficial and safe among people living with HIV/AIDS as it boosts immunity, but further investigation is needed to generalize the findings.