The goal of this study was to see how highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) affected the distribution of zinc in HIV-positive women of reproductive age during the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycle. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 40 (mean 29). HIV is a retrovirus that assaults and damages crucial immune system organs over time while also depleting essential components such as iron and zinc. The research was prospective, cross-sectional, and focused on a specific set of students at a higher institution in Midwestern Nigeria. The study enlisted the participation of 100 HIV-positive reproductive-age women and 50 HIV-negative women of the same age group as controls. They were recruited before starting HAART and were followed for nine months at three-month intervals after starting therapy. The zinc distribution in both the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles was measured. Microcal Origin 5.0 statistical software was used to calculate mean values and standard errors of means (SEM). ANOVA and the Student t-test were used to compare means. HAART significantly (P0.05) increased zinc levels in both phases during the first three months of treatment, then steadily reduced until the ninth month, with larger reductions in the luteal phases at all periods. Conclusion: In this group of young reproductive women, HAART caused an increase in zinc levels for the first three months (repletion) of treatment, followed by a decrease thereafter, and at all stages, lower in the luteal phase than the follicular phase, indicating a link between sex hormone type and zinc levels.

Author (S) Details

Victoria N. Mokwenye
Medical Laboratory Services, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, (UBTH), Edo State, Nigeria.

Raphael M. Mordi
Department of Basic Sciences, Benson Idahosa University, Benin, Edo State, Nigeria.

View Book :- https://stm.bookpi.org/CASTR-V11/article/view/2450