A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of vitamin A and zinc supplementation in persons with tuberculosis in Indonesia: effects on clinical response and nutritional status.

What Was Tested

This controlled clinical trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The results of cross-sectional studies indicate that micronutrient deficiencies are common in patients with tuberculosis.

No published data exist on the effect of vitamin A and zinc supplementation on antituberculosis treatment.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients with newly diagnosed tuberculosis were divided into 2 groups.

Both groups received the same antituberculosis treatment recommended by the World Health Organization.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

The second group (n = 40) received a placebo.

Clinical examinations, assessments of micronutrient status, and anthropometric measurements were carried out before and after 2 and 6 mo of antituberculosis treatment.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Anthropometry, Antitubercular Agents, Body Mass Index, Case-Control Studies, Drug Synergism, Indonesia and Nutritional Status.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2002 (The American journal of clinical nutrition), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.