Prevalence of Clinical and Sub-Clinical Vitamin A Deficiency Among Rural Preschool Children of West Bengal, India.
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Date
2011-01
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Abstract
A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in rural areas of West
Bengal with the aim to assess the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) among
rural preschool children. Clinical examination was carried out on 9,228 children for
the signs and symptoms of VAD and a sub-sample of 590 children were covered for
the estimation of blood vitamin A levels using dried blood spot (DBS) method. The
prevalence of Bitot’s spots was 0.6% (95% CI=0.44, 0.76), which is more than the
public health significance, and it increased with increase in age. The prevalence
was significantly higher (P<0.001) among boys (0.8%) as compared to girls (0.4%).
The proportion of children with subclinical vitamin A deficiency (blood vitamin A <
20μg/dL) was 61% (95% CI: 52.3-65.1), and it was significantly (P<0.01) higher
among the children of lower socioeconomic communities.
Description
Keywords
Bitot’s spots, India, Preschool children, Vitamin A deficiency
Citation
Arlappa N, Balakrishna N, Laxmaiah A, Nair K Madhavan, Brahmam G N V. Prevalence of Clinical and Sub-Clinical Vitamin A Deficiency Among Rural Preschool Children of West Bengal, India. Indian Pediatrics. 2011 Jan; 48(1): 47-49.