scholarly journals THE PREVALENCE OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY AMONG CHILDREN BETWEEN 6- 9 YEARS OLD, EL FATEH QURAN SCHOOL, OMDURMAN LOCALITY, KHARTOUM STATE, SUDAN

Author(s):  
Adam Abdalla ◽  
NosybaAwad Said Taha

There is a substantial documentation of prevalence, severity and health consequences of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in preschool-aged children, very few studies have been done to find out the extent of VAD among Quran pupils. This was a cross-sectional descriptive analytical study conducted in Elfateh Quran School, Omdurman locality. The objectives were to measure the prevalence of Xerophthalmia among Quran pupils in El-Fateh city and to relate it with socio demographic factors.  All students between 6 to 9 years age in ELfatih Quran pupils were considered as target of this study, total coverage was done during the study period from(august to October)2012, and they were 220 students. Data was collected by using a questionnaire and eye examination to all students targeted age group. Data analyzed by using SPSS programs. The study found that the prevalence of VAD was 19.1%, of which 18.2% among boys which is significantly lowers than 0.9% among girls. The prevalence of night blindness was 7.3%, Bitots spots were 4.1%, corneal xerosis 5% and 2.7% were night blindness ± eye sign.  The study concluded that the prevalence of VAD among study population was (19.1%).  Institutional caregivers should be made aware of the importance of providing a balanced diet rich in vitamin A. They should also be aware of the signs and symptoms of VAD for early detection of xerophthalmia and hence take measures of early treatments.

Author(s):  
Vasantha Rao Sappati ◽  
Sannapaneni Krishnaiah ◽  
Suneetha Sapur

Background: To assess the awareness about breast feeding practices and to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about the signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and vitamin A rich foods intake among mothers of children below 5 years in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh (AP) in South India.Methods: A population based cross-sectional study was conducted on 284 mothers (age range 14 to 36 years) during June 2011 and September 2011. A combined simple and systematic random sampling strategy was used to select mothers from one tribal, rural and semi urban area with a representative sample of the Srikakulam district. A standardized structured questionnaire that was developed and validated by the National institute of nutrition, Hyderabad was utilized for this study.Results: The awareness of vitamin A and night blindness was 68.7% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 62.9–74.0) (n=195) and 93.7% (95% CI: 90.2–96.2) (n=266) respectively. The knowledge of signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was nil among illiterate mothers and low among literates; with primary education, adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.01 (95% CI: 0.00, 0.06) and with secondary education, OR: 0.19 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.62) compared to mothers with graduation and above.Conclusions: There is a need to increase the awareness and knowledge about VAD among mothers with children below 5 years in the southern state of AP.


2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thennakoon M. J. C. Madatuwa ◽  
Sanath T. C. Mahawithanage ◽  
Udumalagala G. Chandrika ◽  
Errol R. Jansz ◽  
Ananda R. Wickremasinghe

The Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka commenced a vitamin A supplementation programme of school children with a megadose of 105 μmol (100 000 IU) vitamin A in school years 1, 4 and 7 (approximately 5-, 9- and 12-year-olds, respectively) in 2001. We evaluated the vitamin A supplementation programme of school children in a rural area of Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children supplemented with an oral megadose of vitamin A (105 μmol; n 452) and children not supplemented (controls; n 294) in Grades 1–5. Children were clinically examined and a sample of blood was taken for serum vitamin A concentration estimation by HPLC. Socio-demographic information was obtained from children or mothers. Supplemented children had a higher proportion of males and stunted children, were younger and lived under poorer conditions as compared to controls. There was no difference in the prevalences of eye signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency in the two groups. Supplemented children had higher serum vitamin A concentrations than controls (1·4 (sd 0·49) μmol/l v. 1·2 (sd 0·52) μmol/l). The serum vitamin A concentrations were 1·6 (sd 0·45), 1·4 (sd 0·50), 1·3 (sd 0·44) and 1·1 (sd 0·43) μmol/l in children supplemented within 1, 1–6, 7–12 and 13–18 months of supplementation, respectively. Vitamin A concentrations were significantly greater than controls if supplementation was carried out within 6 months after adjustment. The oral megadose of 105 μmol vitamin A maintained serum vitamin A concentrations for 6 months in school children.


2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
VK Agrawal ◽  
P Agrawal ◽  
Dr Dharmendra

Introduction: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is recognized as a major cause of blindness among children in India. Objective: To find out the prevalence of VAD in rural children of Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken amongst children (0-15 years) in a rural area of Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh) where the study population was selected by simple random sampling out of villages under a Primary Health Centre. Out of 844 children, 802 participated in the study. The WHO classification of xerophthalmia was used. Results: Overall, the prevalence of xerophthalmia was 5.4 %. The prevalence of Bitot’s spots was 0.9 % in children under six years of age and 3.3 % in children above six years. The prevalence of xerophthalmia was significantly more in older children. Overall, the prevalence of anemia was found to be 11.8 % in the study population. A significantly high prevalence of xerophthalmia (OR= 5.7; 95 % CI = 2.8 - 11.5) was observed in children suffering from anemia. Conclusion: The presence of a milder manifestation of xerophthalmia and a 0.9 % prevalence of Bitot’s spot in children under six years of age in the present study shows a declining trend of VAD although it is still a public health problem. The higher prevalence in children above six years of age shows that apart from strengthening of Vitamin A prophylaxis programs, health education is needed for dietary diversification to include vegetables and fruits in the diet for long-term sustainability in improving the vitamin A status of children of all age groups. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(10): 226-229 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i2.8733


Author(s):  
Hassan Abdullah Shakeel ◽  
Hamza Maqsood ◽  
Asher Ishaq ◽  
Basit Ali ◽  
Humza Hussain ◽  
...  

Background: Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder, is the perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep because of one or more of the following conditions: difficulty in falling asleep, frequent waking up during the night with difficulty for returning to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, or unrefreshing sleep. It is the most common sleep related complaint reported in the primary care setting. Medical students are specially at risk of developing insomnia and its consequences. This study evaluates the prevalence and severity of insomnia in medical students in relation to certain socio-demographic factors like age, sex and class of education.Methods: A questionnaire based study was done on 135 medical students of Nishtar Medical University, Multan chosen on basis of random sampling to test the prevalence of insomnia using Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Out of these students 75 were males and 60 were females. Students were interviewed to obtain information about age, sex and academic year of education.Results: According to Athens insomniac scale scoring, 55 (40.74%) students were found insomniac while 80 (59.25%) were non-insomniac. Out of 55 insomniac students, 23 (41.81%) were males while 32 (58.18%) were females. Likewise, out of 80 non-insomniac students, 52 (65%) were males while 28 (35%) were females. The prevalence of insomnia in medical students was found to be increased with the increasing age. It was found that the females have more insomnia prevalence as well as more severe signs and symptoms of insomnia. Moreover, final year students tend to show more prevalence and severity of insomnia than their juniors.Conclusions: According to this study, 2 out of every 5 students were insomniac. Demographic comparison showed that the prevalence and severity of insomnia was more in females and final year students. Also, it was increasing side by side with increasing age.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 379
Author(s):  
Santik Wijayanti ◽  
Triska Susila Nindya

 Background: Family conscious nutrition (Kadarzi) is an Indonesia government program that aims to address the nutrition problem. The family expected to be able to independently giving the best nutrition to improve health. Each Kadarzi indicator has an important role to resolve and prevent the occurrence of utrition problem as indicator of vitamin A supplementation is used to resolve vitamin A deficiency.  Nutrition problems can be seen by using nutritional status. Children under five years are age-prone to experiencenutritional problem such as underweight, stunting, and wasting. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the application of Kadarzi behavior with the nutritional status of children under five (WAZ, HAZ, and WHZ). Method: The research was an analytic obsevation research, using cross sectional design. The sample consist of 72 toddlers in Salakkembang Village, Kalidawir Subdistrict, Tulungagung Regency. The data were collected by using weight and height measurement, also Kadarzi bahavior questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Fisher Exact test. Result: The results of the study showed that there was a correlation between Kadarzi behavior with nutitional status of toddlers based on WAZ (p=0.010), and HAZ (p=0.000) but not with WHZ (p=0.368). Conclusion: The better apllication of Kadarzi behavior, the better the nutritional status of toddlers WAZ and HAZ. Mothers should apply Kadarzi behavior to prevent toddlers from nutritional problems. ABSTRAK Latar belakang: Keluarga Sadar Gizi (Kadarzi) merupakan program pemerintah Indonesia yang bertujuan mengatasi masalah gizi. Keluarga diharapkan dapat secara mandiri mewujudkan keadaan gizi yang sebaik-baiknya untuk meningkatkan kesehatan. Setiap indikator Kadarzi memiliki peran penting untuk mengatasi dan mencegah terjadinya masalah gizi seperti indikator pemberian suplemen vitamin A digunakan untuk mengatasi kekurangan vitamin A. Masalah gizi dapat dilihat salah satunya dengan menggunakan status gizi. Balita merupakan usia yang rawan mengalami masalah gizi seperti underweight, stunting, dan wasting.Tujuan: Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah menganalisis hubungan antara penerapan perilaku Kadarzi dengan status gizi balita (BB/U, TB/U, dan BB/TB).Metode: Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian observasinol analitik, dengan desain penelitian cross sectional. Sampel terdiri dari 72 balita di Desa Salakkembang, Kecamatan Kalidawir, Kabupaten Tulungagung. Pengumpulan data menggunakan penimbangan berat badan, tinggi badan, dan kuesioner perilaku Kadarzi. Data dianalisis menggunakan Fisher Exact test. Hasil: Hasil dari penelitian menunjukkan terhadap hubungan antara perilaku Kadarzi dengan status gizi balita BB/U (p=0,010) dan TB/U (p=0,000) namun tidak dengan BB/TB (p=0,368).Kesimpulan: Semakin baik penerapan perilaku Kadarzi maka semakin baik status gizi balita BB/U dan TB/U. Ibu dan seluruh anggota keluarga seharusnya menerapkan perilaku Kadarzi agar balita terhindar dari masalah gizi.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Alexandra Marley ◽  
Samuel CL Smith ◽  
Ruhina Ahmed ◽  
Peter Nightingale ◽  
Sheldon C Cooper

Abstract Objective: Vitamin A (VA) deficiency, more common in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) secondary to malnutrition, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and impact of VA deficiency in high-income countries (HIC) where chronic conditions may predispose is less well understood. Setting: We examined the scale of low and deficient VA status in our tertiary University Teaching Hospital (HIC). Participants: Patients undergoing serum retinol concentrations 2012-2016 were identified from laboratory records, and records examined. Design: Interpretation of serum retinol may be affected by inflammation, so C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were sought. Binary logistic regression and generalised estimating equations were performed to review the relationship between CRP and VA. Results: 628 assays were requested, with 82 patients VA low (0.7-0.99umol/L) or deficient (<0.7umol/L). 16 patients were symptomatic (15 deficient), predominantly visual. Only one symptomatic patient’s VA deficiency was secondary to poor intake. Other symptomatic patients had chronic illnesses resulting in malabsorption. The incidence of a low VA level increases significantly with a raised CRP. Conclusion: The majority of patients tested either were replete or likely to have abnormal VA levels due to concomitant inflammation. A minority of patients had signs and symptoms of VA deficiency and was a cause of significant morbidity, but aetiology differs from LMIC, overwhelmingly malabsorption, most commonly secondary to surgery or hepatobiliary disease. A correlation between inflammation and low VA levels exists, which raises the possibility that requesting a VA level in an asymptomatic patient with active inflammation may be of questionable benefit.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yidrsail Hune ◽  
Hirut Asaye ◽  
Ayenew Negesse ◽  
Habtamu Temesgen ◽  
Tadesse Yirga ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for the proper functioning of the immune system. It fondes both animal and plant sources in the form of retinol from animal sources or beta-carotene from plant source foods. Due to increased nutrient need and the severity of the potential health consequences are associated with vitamin A deficiency (VAD), preschool children and pregnant women are considered as the most at risk segments of the community. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of VAD and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in Dera woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Community based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged 6-59 months in Dera woreda from December 1/2018 to January 1/2019. Multistage random sampling was used to select the required samples (267). Data were coded and entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was fitted. Both bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to identify factors associated with VAD. Those variables that were showed significant association in multivariable association at P value less than 0.05 declared as statistically significant factors of VAD among children age 6-59 months. Results: Two hundred sixty seven mother-children Pairs were included in the study making a response rate of 94.7%. The overall prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency among children age 6-59 months was 7.8% (95% CI (4.7, 11.3). Antenatal care follow up (AOR: 0.446,95 % CI (0.155, 0.980)); birth interval within 2 year (AOR: 0.392, 95 % CI (0.107, 0.839)), and age group of24-35 months (AOR; 1.206, 95 % CI (1.037, 6.129)) were significantly associated with vitamin-A deficiency. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in this study was found to be lower than the national and regional prevalence. According to this study, VAD is a mild public health problem. Age of children, birth interval, ANC follow up, remain the most important associated factors for vitamin A deficiency. Therefore to decrease the prevalence of VAD, ANC service should be strengthened and we should focus on older children birth interval and age- based food needs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Getnet Kassa ◽  
Addisalem Mesfin ◽  
Samson Gebremedhin

Abstract Background In low- and middle-income countries routine vitamin A supplementation (VAS) is a key strategy for reducing vitamin A deficiency and mortality and morbidity of preschool children. However, in Ethiopia, there is paucity of evidence regarding the level and determinants of the uptake of the supplement. This study was designed to assess the coverage and predictors of VAS among preschool children in Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2016. A total of 840 mothers/caregivers having children 6–59 months of age were selected using multistage cluster sampling technique from six rural villages implementing routine VAS program. Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire. Possible predictors considered in the study include distance from the nearby health facility, household socio-economic status, type of the household (model vs non-model), maternal access to health education on VAS, and knowledge on vitamin A and VAS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of uptake of VAS. The outputs are presented using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with the respective 95% confidence interval (CI). Results The coverage of VAS was 75.0% (95% CI: 72.1–77.9). Better knowledge of mothers about the importance of the supplement (AOR: 1.49, 1.02–2.17), obtaining VAS related information from frontline community health workers (AOR: 1.51, 1.34–2.72) than health professionals and being from households in the “rich” wealth tertile (AOR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.07–3.03) were positively associated with uptake VAS. Conclusion The VAS coverage of the area was approaching the expected national target of 80%. However, the uptake can be enhanced though awareness creation and improving socio-economic status of the community.


1954 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 470 ◽  
Author(s):  
AW Peirce

Ewes aged initially 3-7 years were kept in pens for periods of 3-4 years on diets which supplied only about 10 µg carotene per kg body weight per day but were adequate in other respects; supplements of carotene ranging from 25 to 200 µg per kg body weight per day were added during the five gestation periods of the experiments. Signs of vitamin A deficiency such as night-blindness and low concentrations of vitamin A in the blood did not appear until the sheep had been receiving the deficient diets for at least 16 months. The levels of vitamin A in the blood rose during periods of supplementation by amounts proportional to the intakes, but the increases brought about by a carotene concentrate were smaller than those with equivalent amounts of carotene as lucerne meal. Reproduction was satisfactory when the intake of carotene was 50 µg or more per kg body weight per day, and when at least 80 per cent. of this carotene was supplied as lucerne meal.


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