title: Nutrition and HIV infection.
abstract: Nutritional status may have an impact at all stages of HIV disease. Many of the clinical features of HIV infection cause nutritional problems and may also be exacerbated by the presence of malnutrition. Inadequate food intake, due to a wide variety of aetiologies, malabsorption and altered metabolism, may all contribute to malnutrition. Additionally, factors in food, including micronutrients, can modulate immune function. Reduced micronutrient levels are documented at all stages of HIV infection although the significance of these findings and how they may relate to HIV disease severity and prognosis are still unclear. Body composition changes in adults include loss of weight with proportionately greater loss of lean mass. Paediatric HIV infection has received far less research attention, but growth failure is a significant nutritional complication seen clinically. Clinical experience suggests that e 1000 arly nutritional intervention may improve prognosis as well as quality of life. Nutritional management in HIV disease depends on the clinical state of the patient. Definition of the benefits of particular food factors and diets, as well as the most appropriate nutrition support modalities, would allow rational nutritional counselling. Better definition of the contribution food makes to health through its social role, and the opportunities this provides in patient care, would complement the biomedical research effort.
authors.affiliation: Monash University Department of Medicine, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lusting