A randomized trial of multivitamin supplementation in children with tuberculosis in Tanzania

• Published in: Nutrition journal 2011-10, Vol.10 (1), p.120-120, Article 120
• Main Authors: Mehta, Saurabh, Mugusi, Ferdinand M, Bosch, Ronald J, Aboud, Said, Chatterjee, Anirban, Finkelstein, Julia L, Fataki, Maulidi, Kisenge, Rodrick, Fawzi, Wafaie W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropometry; Care and treatment; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Data collection; Diagnosis; Dietary Supplements; Double-Blind Method; Endpoint Determination; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health aspects; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infant; Lymphocytes; Male; Mortality; Multivitamins; Nutrition; Public health; Tanzania - epidemiology; Treatment Outcome; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis - complications; Tuberculosis - drug therapy; Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Vitamins - administration & dosage; Weight control; Weight Gain - drug effects
• ISSN: 1475-2891; 1475-2891
• DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-10-120

Children with tuberculosis often have underlying nutritional deficiencies. Multivitamin supplementation has been proposed as a means to enhance the health of these children; however, the efficacy of such an intervention has not been examined adequately. 255 children, aged six weeks to five years, with tuberculosis were randomized to receive either a daily multivitamin supplement or a placebo in the first eight weeks of anti-tuberculous therapy in Tanzania. This was only 64% of the proposed sample size as the trial had to be terminated prematurely due to funding constraints. They were followed up for the duration of supplementation through clinic and home visits to assess anthropometric indices and laboratory parameters, including hemoglobin and albumin. There was no significant effect of multivitamin supplementation on the primary endpoint of the trial: weight gain after eight weeks. However, significant differences in weight gain were observed among children aged six weeks to six months in subgroup analyses (n=22; 1.08 kg, compared to 0.46 kg in the placebo group; 95% CI=0.12, 1.10; p=0.01). Supplementation resulted in significant improvement in hemoglobin levels at the end of follow-up in children of all age groups; the median increase in children receiving multivitamins was 1.0 g/dL, compared to 0.4 g/dL in children receiving placebo (p