Prevalence and factors associated with vitamin A deficiency in children and adolescents

Abstract

VAD is a health concern among children and adolescents. Lower weight and younger schoolchildren had greater vulnerability to VAD.

Vitamin A deficiency and factors associated with retinol levels in public school students

“…Nevertheless, that frequency is lower than the percentages reported by nearly all studies on schoolers from other Brazilian regions [8][9][10][19][20][21]. Only Mariath et Table 2.…”

“…Sample size was calculated by considering the 8.9% prevalence of VAD in students aged seven to 14 years from Salvador (BA) [10] the 32,000 students enrolled in the public schools of Teresina (PI) in 2011; an error margin of 5%; and a design effect of 2 as the sampling method was not random simple but cluster. The required sample size was 249 students.…”

“…Serum retinol levels A B five to 18 years from a rural area of the Federal District by using HPLC, which is considered the gold standard, and defining inadequate serum retinol level as <20μg/dL (<0.07μmol/L); Custódio et al [9] found prevalences of 26.2% and 5.8% of serum retinol level <1.05μmol/L and <0.70μmol/L, respectively, in children aged five to 11 years by using the Relative DoseResponse method; and finally, more recently, Ribeiro-Silva et al [10] found a VAD prevalence of 27.8% in children and adolescents of a public school in Salvador (BA), by using a cut-off point of <30g/dL or <1.05μmol/L and HPLC.…”

“…The relationship between age and retinol level in students remains unclear. Ribeiro-Silva et al [10] compared students aged less and more than 10 years from Salvador (BA), and found a positive association between moderate/severe VAD and age. However, the present study results do not confirm that finding as low serum retinol level was more prevalent in students aged 12 to 14 years.…”

“…Some Brazilian studies conducted in the last decade found that VAD also affects a considerable proportion of school-aged children and adolescents [8][9][10], groups that are not classically recognized as priorities regarding vulnerability to this deficiency. Nevertheless, the findings are justified by the fact that vitamin A is strongly involved in physical growth, which can be intense in children and adolescents undergoing a growth spurt, a period that requires more vitamin A [1,2,11] Additionally, children and adolescents are susceptible to cultural, social, and environmental influences, possibly promoting inappropriate eating habits and lower intake of dietary sources of vitamins and minerals [12] and contributing to the development of important deficiency-related conditions.…”