Vitamin A deficiency and anemia in Central American children

Abstract

In order to investigate the role of vitamin A nutriture in the prevalence of anemia in Central America, a retrospective evaluation of the data of the six Institute of Nutrition of Central Americal and Panama/Office for International Research nutrition surveys of Central America and Panama has been made. Three groups of children; 1 to 4, 5 to 8, and 9 to 12 years old, living between 0 and 2,5000 feet above sea level were studeid. Several biochemical and dietary parameters related to anemia were corrleated with plasma levels of retinol. Children between the ages of 5 and 12 years showed a significant positive correlation between hemoglobin and plasma retinol. Children aged 1 to 4 years did not show a similar correlation. In children of all age groups there were positive correlations between plasma retinol and serum iron. Percent saturation of transferrin was also found to be lower when plasma retinol levels were low. Children with an adequate intake of iron, as classified by both dietary information and socioeconomic level, showed a significant positive correlation between plasma retinol levels and iron in their serum. In contrast, no correlation was found when dietary iron was low. In the light of these findings, a possible relationship between vitamin A deficiency and anemia is suggested.

The anemia of vitamin A deficiency: epidemiology and pathogenesis

“…Pooled data from surveys conducted in Vietnam, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala and Ethiopia showed a high correlation (r ¼ 0.77, P < 0.0001) between hemoglobin and plasma retinol concentrations (Hodges et al, 1978). A correlation between hemoglobin and plasma or serum retinol concentrations has been described in many studies, including studies of preschool children from Pakistan (r ¼ 0.367, P < 0.0001; Molla et al, 1993b), school-aged children in Central America (r ¼ 0.209, P < 0.05, Majía et al, 1977), school-aged children from Bangladesh (r ¼ 0.31, P < 0.001; Ahmed et al, 1993), children in India (r ¼ 0.52, P < 0.001, Mohanram et al, 1977), adolescent girls in Malawi (r ¼ 0.161, P ¼ 0.08; Fazio-Tirrozzo et al, 1998), and older adults in Vienna (r ¼ 0.56, P < 0.001) ( Wenger et al, 1979). During the second trimester of pregnancy, pregnant women in Malawi had a correlation between plasma vitamin A and hemoglobin concentrations (r ¼ 0.256, P < 0.0001; Figure 1, Semba et al, unpublished data).…”

Hemoglobin concentration is inversely associated with erythrocyte folate concentrations in Colombian school-age children, especially among children with low vitamin B12 status

“…The consequences of anemia include poor school performance, reduced work capacity, increased susceptibility to infections, and stunted growth (Stoltzfus, 2001). While iron deficiency is the cause of approximately one-half of all cases of anemia (Zimmermann and Hurrell, 2007), deficiencies of other micronutrients, including folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin A, have also been identified as causes of low hemoglobin concentrations and anemia (Majia et al, 1977;Villalpando et al, 2006;Jones et al, 2007) through diverse mechanisms. Folate is a carbon donor for purine and pyrimidine synthesis, which are needed for the rapidly developing erythroid cells (Scott, 1999).…”

Indicators of erythrocyte formation and degradation in rats with either vitamin A or iron deficiency

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] In rats, vitamin A deficiency reduces the incorporation of radioactive iron into erythrocytes, 7,8 alters red blood cell morphology, 9,10 produces mild anemia, [11][12][13][14] low-ers plasma total iron-binding capacity, 13,15,16 increases iron absorption, 9,12,13 and causes iron accumulation in spleen 10,[13][14][15]16 and bone. 13,15,16 Based on studies in rats, we have hypothesized 15 that vitamin A deficiency impairs erythropoiesis, so that mild anemia with malformed red cells develops.…”