Abstract
Despite the national vitamin A and antihelminthic prophylaxis programmes, both intestinal geohelminths and subclinical vitamin A deficiency continue to be prevalent among children in developing countries. Studies on potential synergistic effects of vitamin A supplementation and deworming on retinol status have inconsistent results. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impacts of low-dose beta-carotene supplementation and antihelminthic therapy on serum retinol and beta-carotene concentrations in preschool children of Bangladesh. Two hundred and forty-four children, known to be infected with Ascaris lumbricoides, were randomized into four treatment groups: I-IV. Group I and II received two oral doses of 400 mg of albendazole each, the first dose at baseline and the second dose after four months; Group III and IV received placebo in place of albendazole. In addition, Group I and III received 1.2 mg of beta-carotene powder in capsule daily for six months, and Group II and IV received placebo in place of beta-carotene. Serum retinol and beta-carotene levels were measured before and after six months of the interventions. Serum retinol and beta-carotene increased significantly in Group I where both antihelminthic therapy and daily beta-carotene supplementation were given (p<0.05 and p<0.001 respectively). Antihelminthic therapy alone only improved serum beta-carotene concentration (p<0.0001). Low-dose beta-carotene supplementation, along with an antihelminthic therapy, synergistically improved vitamin A status. This finding has public-health implications for improving vitamin A status of children in developing countries.
Highlights
It is recognized that both clinical and subclinical vitamin A deficiencies (VAD) are a serious publichealth problem, in developing countries [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of daily supplementation with low-dose βcarotene and/or antihelminthic therapy with albendazole on the vitamin A status of preschool children of Bangladesh, who were generally free of clinical manifestations of vitamin A deficiency but were known to be infected with A. lumbricoides
Both serum β-carotene and retinol concentrations were used as markers of vitamin A status of various treatment groups at baseline and after six months of the intervention
Summary
It is recognized that both clinical and subclinical vitamin A deficiencies (VAD) are a serious publichealth problem, in developing countries [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended strategies that have been implemented in developing countries for more than three decades to eradicate VAD. These include: (a) highdose vitamin A capsule supplementation, (b) food. It may be true that people suffer from such deficiencies solely because of the β-carotene and deworming improve vitamin A status decreased availability of adequate micronutrients from the diet due to intestinal parasites; this problem has not been adequately studied
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