Abstract
Introduction: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disorders exist as a public health nutrition problem among preschool-aged children in 118 developing countries worldwide, with the South-East Asian Region harboring the maximum number of cases. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted on 100 children with protein energy malnutrition. Clinical assessment was done by noting the symptoms and ophthalmic signs of vitamin A deficiency in both eyes and classified according to W.H.O. classification. Results: Majority of the children were below 6 years of age (82%). Pre-school children were affected the most (84.7%). In this study 76% of the children had one or other infections. 52% had infections like respiratory infections (20%), diarrhea (19%), measles (10%) and urinary tract infections (3%). Children with acute infections were found to have severe form of Vitamin A deficiency more often (28.8%). Out of 100 children 17% were grade –I, 23% were grade-II, 32% were grade-III and 28% were grade IV malnourished according to IAP classification. Conjunctival xerosis was the most common sign (45.83%) of all Vitamin A deficiency cases followed by Bitot spots were seen in 30.55% of cases. Conclusion: Supplementation of the vitamin A rich food to the at risk mothers and children, proper weaning practices, eliminations of infections by immunization, implementation of various nutritional programs and regular deworming will go a long way in prevention of Vitamin A deficiency in children.
Highlights
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disorders exist as a public health nutrition problem among preschool-aged children in 118 developing countries worldwide, with the South-East Asian Region harboring the maximum number of cases
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disorders exist as a public health nutrition problem among preschool-aged children in about 118 developing countries, with maximum number of cases seen in South-East Asian countries [1]
Vitamin A deficiency is widely prevalent in low income countries leading to a wide range of clinical manifestations which in turn leads to higher mortality in affected populations
Summary
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disorders exist as a public health nutrition problem among preschool-aged children in 118 developing countries worldwide, with the South-East Asian Region harboring the maximum number of cases. Clinical assessment was done by noting the symptoms and ophthalmic signs of vitamin A deficiency in both eyes and classified according to W.H.O. classification. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) disorders exist as a public health nutrition problem among preschool-aged children in about 118 developing countries, with maximum number of cases seen in South-East Asian countries [1]. Vitamin A maintains the integrity of the epithelial tissue of the gastro-intestinal tract, skin, respiratory tract and Manuscript received: 27th March 2016 Reviewed: 9th April 2016 Author Corrected; 20th April 2016 Accepted for Publication: 1st May 2016 eyes [2]. At present in India overt VAD is not a major public health problem but, sub-clinical VAD is still a concern. Many studies have shown that as many as 62 % of our pre-school children may have sub-clinical Vitamin A deficiency [3, 4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Pediatric Review: International Journal of Pediatric Research
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
