Blood vitamin and mineral levels in 7-17 years old Turkish children

Blood vitamin (thiamin, riboflavin, vitamins B6, B12, C, A, and E, folate and beta-carotene), mineral (iron and zinc), alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol levels and hematocrit were assessed in 960 school-age children selected by random sampling from urban and rural regions of Turkey. Nutritional statuses of the children according to each index were compared with respect to age, sex, area and type of settlement. A biochemical deficiency was observed in 20.1% of the children for thiamin, in 89.9% for riboflavin, in 83.4% for vitamin B6, in 23.3% for folate, in 5.9% for vitamin B12, in 43.0% for vitamin C, in 11.6% for vitamin A, in 3.5% for beta-carotene, in 21.8% for vitamin E, in 6.1% for iron, and in 15.7% for zinc. Hematocrit was low in 54.3%. Alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol levels were found to be above normal in 54.6% and 4.9% of the children respectively. It is surmised that a major cause of the deficiencies was an ignorance of good dietary practice. Although the children were found to be relatively short according to the National Center for Health Statistics standards, their normalised weights were within acceptable limits, which suggested a prevalence of stunting but not wasting in this population.