Prevalence of Clinical and Sub-Clinical Vitamin A Deficiency Among Rural Preschool Children of West Bengal, India.
Indian Pediatr
;
2011 Jan; 48(1): 47-49
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-168745
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.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prevalence study
/
Risk factors
Language:
English
Journal:
Indian Pediatr
Year:
2011
Type:
Article
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