Anti-retroviral drugs aimed at treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in adults may lose effectiveness when the body goes low on vitamin D, a new study finds.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, was conducted by Amara Ezeamama and colleagues from the University of Georgia in Athens, Science Daily reported.

When HIV infection is not treated, the virus will continue to target CD4 cells, the cells that play a vital role in protecting the body against infection.

Those who have the virus will lead a poor quality of life as their health deteriorates due to failure in responding to different types of disease-causing microorganisms.

As stated in the report, Ezeamama said that the study was conducted to get a better understanding of how vitamin D plays a role in influencing the effectiveness of anti-retroviral treatments.

To arrive at their findings, Ezeamama and colleagues studied 398 HIV-positive individuals, who are already on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The study ran for 18 months and researchers monitored the immune system status of the individuals at zero, three, six, 12, and 18 months, the report from Science Daily gathered.

Throughout the study period, researchers then analyzed the changes in the number of CD4 cells and how it correlates to the levels of vitamin D in the body.

The study revealed that those participants who had adequate vitamin D levels responded more to the treatments compared to those who have vitamin D deficiency.

Specifically, those responded well to treatment had an average of 65 more CD4 cells compared to the other group. In addition, it was observed that the effect of having sufficient vitamin D levels is more pronounced in younger and underweight patients.

As a conclusion, researchers said that giving vitamin D supplements could help HIV-positive patients on HAART recover more quickly. However, they also said that a specific study should be conducted to investigate more on the effect.