Vitamin A and beta-carotene status in childhood diarrhea

ABSTRACT

Assessment of vitamin A status and beta-carotenes and an association between acute diarrhea and plasma levels of vitamin A were done. Plasma vitamin A and beta-carotenes were measured by colorimetric method of Neeld and Pearson. Eighty-four children in the age group of 6-60 months with a current history of diarrhea were studied. They were divided into two groups, one group included 22 children with recurrent diarrhea and the other one included 62 children with non- recurrent diarrhea, in addition to 56 healthy age matched children served as a control group. Children with a history of diarrhea showed significant low levels as compared with controls. Studying the odds ratio [OR] revealed that the risk for developing recurrence of diarrhea is increased if the child has a low vitamin A level or bad nutritional status