ABSTRACT
Objective To understand the level of vitamin A (VA)in children in Beijing city.Methods 292 children aged from 0~14 years old visited the health clinic from November 2012 to March 2013 in Beijing city were surveyed by a question-naire,and medical history,physical examination,a blood sample was collected from each child,and serum VA was measured with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).Results ①The mean serum VA concentration for the 292 children was (1.09 ± 0.29)μmol/L.②There were 5.8% (17/292)of children affected with subclinical VAD (SVAD),and 38.0% (107/292)had suspected SVAD (SSVAD).③Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that parents were unware of health implications of VA,low VA intake and recurrent respiratory infection were associated with SVAD or SSVAD.Conclusion Low VA status remains a nutritional problem in children in Beij ing city.Multiple factors need to be considered together for them,such as parents were unware of health implications of VA,low VA intake and re-current respiratory infection.