Nutritional and metabolic abnormalities in pre-AIDS HIV infection

Since the earliest reports of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, undernutrition has been associated with HIV infection, typically with the late stages of the disease (namely acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and may advance to severe wasting and cachexia. Specific micronutrient deficiencies are also recognized to occur with HIV infection, but their actual effect on the clinical course of the disease is hard to assess. The studies reviewed provide more insight into the complex interface between undernutrition and, in some cases, obesity and HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and highlight the possibility of alleviating or curing undernutrition by means of simple and comparatively inexpensive dietary adjustments.