Vitamin A deficiency is prevalent in children less than 5 y of age in Nigeria.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious and widespread public health problem in developing countries. We conducted a nationwide food consumption and nutrition survey in Nigeria to help fomulate strategies to address VAD, among other deficiencies. One objectives was to assess the vitamin A status of children <5 y old. A total of 6480 households with a mother and child <5 y old were randomly sampled. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture and processed to obtain serum for measurement of retinol concentration by HPLC. Nationwide, 29.5% of children <5 y old were vitamin A deficient (serum retinol <0.70 micromol/L). The proportions of children with VAD differed among the agroecological zones; incidences were 31.3% in the dry savanna, 24.0% in the moist savanna, and 29.9% in the humid forest (P < 0.001). More children (P < 0.05) with severe deficiency (serum retinol < 0.35 micromol/L) lived in the humid forest (7.1%) than in the dry (3.1%) or moist savanna (2.4%). The distribution of VA in children <5 y old was 25.6% in the rural sector, 32.6% in the medium, and 25.9% in the urban sector (P < 0.05). In conclusion, VAD is a severe public health problem in Nigeria. Although the proportion of children with low serum vitamin A levels varies agroecologically and across sectors, it is an important public health problem in all zones and sectors.

Food and nutrient intakes by pregnant Nigerian adolescents during the third trimester.

We assessed the food and nutrient intakes of pregnant adolescent Nigerians during the third trimester of pregnancy. The study was hospital based and the subjects consisted of 101 adolescents (47 urban and 54 rural) and 20 controls (primigravidae, 20 to 25 y old) who attended antenatal clinics. The 3-d weighed-intake technique was used to obtain information on food intake. For all cohorts, the results showed that the bulk of the foods derived from three main food groups, namely roots or tubers, cereals, and legumes. Older adolescents (17.5 to 19 y) in urban areas had the highest energy intake (5.9 MJ/d), and the younger urban adolescents (15 to 17 y) had the lowest (5.2 MJ/d) energy intake. Mean protein intake levels for urban adolescents (37.7 g/d) did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) from mean intake levels (35.3 g/d) for rural subjects. Dietary iron intake was similar in all cohorts including controls, and only 32.3% to 39.3% of the recommended daily allowance for iron was met by the subjects. Approximately 30% of subjects individually achieved 100% of the recommended levels of zinc. Mean intakes as percentages of the recommended daily allowance by adolescent subjects were 50.7% for calcium, 29.2% for copper, and 28.5% for folate. There is urgent need to monitor the nutrition status of pregnant women in the area.