Related Experiment Videos
Vitamin A deficiency in children with acute diarrhoea
S Mehra1, S Aneja, M Choudhury
1Diarrhoea Training and Treatment Unit, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Insights
Vitamin-A deficiency is highly prevalent in young children, affecting both those with and without acute diarrhea. This study found no significant link between vitamin-A status and acute diarrhea risk in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Vitamin-A deficiency is a global health concern, particularly in young children.
- Xerophthalmia and subclinical deficiency are key indicators of inadequate vitamin-A status.
- The role of vitamin-A deficiency as a risk factor for acute diarrhea requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of vitamin-A deficiency in children with acute diarrhea.
- To assess vitamin-A deficiency as a risk factor for acute diarrhea.
- To compare vitamin-A status between children with and without acute diarrhea.
Main Methods:
- Simple random sampling enrolled 95 children (9 months-3 years) with acute diarrhea.
- Ocular impression cytology and clinical examination assessed xerophthalmia and vitamin-A deficiency.
- Comparison with 96 sex- and age-matched controls from similar socioeconomic backgrounds.
Main Results:
- Clinically evident xerophthalmia: 12.6% in cases vs. 10.4% in controls.
- Subclinical vitamin-A deficiency (cytology): 48.4% in cases vs. 40.6% in controls.
- No significant difference in vitamin-A deficiency prevalence between cases and controls (p > 0.05).
- Vitamin-A deficiency prevalence increased with malnutrition severity in both groups (p < 0.05).
- Subclinical deficiency found even in well-nourished children (35% cases, 22.7% controls).
Conclusions:
- High prevalence of vitamin-A deficiency exists in young children, irrespective of diarrhea status.
- Vitamin-A deficiency was not found to be a significant risk factor for acute diarrhea in this population.
- Malnutrition is associated with increased vitamin-A deficiency, but subclinical deficiency is also present in well-nourished children.
Abstract:
Ninety-five children between 9 months and 3 years (mean age 14.4 months) with acute diarrhoea were enrolled by simple random sampling and studied for the presence of xerophthalmia and subclinical vitamin-A deficiency (detected by ocular impression cytology). The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of vitamin-A deficiency in these children and to evaluate its role as a risk factor for acute diarrhoea. The results were compared with 96 sex-and age-matched (mean age 15.79 months) controls belonging to similar nutritional grades and socioeconomic status who did not have diarrhoea and attended the hospital for treatment of minor ailments or for immunizations. Clinically evident xerophthalmia was observed in 12.6% of cases with acute diarrhoea and in 10.4% of controls. Ocular impression cytology suggested vitamin-A deficiency in 48.4% of cases and 40.6% of controls. However, on comparing the study group with the controls, there was no significant difference in vitamin-A deficiency in the 2 groups on clinical examination (p > 0.05) or by ocular impression cytology (p > 0.05). The prevalence rate of vitamin-A deficiency increased with the severity of malnutrition in cases (p < 0.05) as well as in controls (p < 0.05), but subclinical vitamin-A deficiency was detected even in well-nourished cases (35%) and controls (22.7%). Our results suggest a high prevalence of vitamin-A deficiency in young children from our study population with or without diarrhoea and even in well-nourished children. The association of vitamin-A deficiency was not significantly different in cases of acute diarrhoea than in the controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)