Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Quantitative Analysis of Dietary Vitamin A Metabolites in Murine Ocular and Non-Ocular Tissues Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
05:03

Quantitative Analysis of Dietary Vitamin A Metabolites in Murine Ocular and Non-Ocular Tissues Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Published on: December 27, 2024

Childhood mortality after a high dose of vitamin A in a high risk population

N M Daulaire1, E S Starbuck, R M Houston

  • 1International Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Major Childhood Disease (INTERCEPT), Hanover, New Hampshire 03755.

BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)
|January 25, 1992
PubMed

Insights

High-dose vitamin A supplementation significantly reduced child mortality by 26% in communities with high malnutrition. This intervention was cost-effective and easily integrated into existing health programs, improving child survival rates.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Nutritional Epidemiology
  • International Health

Background:

  • High child mortality and malnutrition are prevalent in many low-income regions.
  • Vitamin A deficiency is a significant contributor to childhood illness and death.
  • Effective, scalable interventions are needed to improve child survival.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of a single high dose of vitamin A on child mortality in high-risk communities.
  • To assess the feasibility of integrating community-wide vitamin A supplementation into primary healthcare programs.

Main Methods:

  • An opportunistic controlled trial was conducted in Jumla district, Nepal.
  • 3786 children under 5 received a single high dose of vitamin A, while 3411 children in control subdistricts did not.
  • Mortality and causes of death were monitored for five months post-supplementation.

Main Results:

  • Supplemented children aged 1-59 months had a 26% lower risk of death (RR 0.74).
  • Mortality reduction was most pronounced in infants aged 6-11 months (RR 0.51).
  • Diarrheal disease mortality also decreased significantly (RR 0.65), with an estimated cost of $11 per death averted.

Conclusions:

  • Vitamin A supplementation plays a crucial role in enhancing child survival.
  • The vitamin A supplementation program was successfully integrated into existing community health services with minimal additional cost.
Abstract

Keywords:
Age DistributionAge FactorsAsiaBiologyCauses Of DeathChild Mortality--changesChild Survival--changesControl GroupsDemographic FactorsDemographic ImpactDeveloping CountriesDiseasesLength Of LifeMalnutritionMortalityNepalNutrition DisordersPhysiologyPopulationPopulation At RiskPopulation CharacteristicsPopulation DynamicsResearch MethodologySex DistributionSex FactorsSouthern AsiaSurvivorshipVitamin A--administraction and dosageVitamin A--beneficial effectsVitamins

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