Intake of vitamin A & its association with nutrition status of pre-school children.
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Date
2015-10
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Abstract
Background: Vitamin A is an essential micronutrient for the immune system. Its deficiency is one of the most important causes of preventable childhood blindness and is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality from infections. Studies have linked vitamin A deficiency to a greater risk of malnutrition. Therefore the present study was planned to assess the intake of Vitamin A in pre- school children and to find out its association with nutritional status of Pre- School children.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and rural Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Children (n=400) of 12-59 months were randomly selected and mothers were interviewed after taking informed consent on pretested predesigned questionnaire on socio-demographic and Dietary intake. Anthropometry was performed using standard procedures.
Results: The mean age of children was 31.9 months and mean intake of Vitamin A was 344.8 μg. Underweight, stunting and wasting was seen in 43.7%, 51.3 % and 21.8% of children respectively. Stunting was associated significantly with mean Vitamin A intake (p<0.005). 54% children had been administered Vitamin A in past six months. Signs of Vitamin A deficiency were seen in only 6.2 % children. On Multivariate analysis Height / Age Z score was significantly associated with Vitamin A intake (OR-2.8, 2.5-14.0).
Conclusions: The prevalence of malnutrition for pre-school children is worrying. There is low intake of Vitamin A. There is need to find innovative and effective ways of reaching the community for educating them on balanced diet particularly rich in vitamin A.
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Keywords
Vitamin A, Stunting, Nutrition status, Pre- school
Citation
Abedi Ali Jafar, Mehnaz Saira, Ansari Mohammed Athar, Srivastava Jyoti Prakash, Srivastava Khush Prasad. Intake of vitamin A & its association with nutrition status of pre-school children. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2015 Oct-Dec; 2(4): 489-493.