Vitamin A deficiency Disorders among the Rural Pre-School Children of South India
Journal Title: International Journal of Nutrition - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
Objectives: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) among the rural pre-school children in India is continues to be a major nutritional problem of public health significance, even after the implementation of national vitamin A prophylaxis programme for more than four decades. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among rural pre-school children of South India. Methodology: A community based cross-section study; adopting multi-stage random sampling procedure was carried out by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) among rural pre-school children of four South Indian states viz. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka during 2003-05. A total of 35,480 (Boys: 18,216; Girls: 17,264) rural children of 1-5 year age group was covered for this study. Key Results: The prevalence of Bitot’s spot, an objective ocular sign of VAD among the rural pre-school children of South Indian was 0.6% (95%CI:0.5-0.7). Similarly, the proportion of children with sub-clinical VAD was 59.3%, suggestive of a severe public health problem. In general, the prevalence of VAD was significantly higher (p<0.001) among the children of socio-economically marginalized sections of the communities, labourers, illiterate mothers and those residing in the households with no sanitary latrine. Conclusion: The prevalence of clinical and sub-clinical VAD among the rural pre-school children of south India is suggestive of a public health concern. Therefore, rural communities are encouraged to consume diets rich in pre-formed and pro-vitamin A and administer periodic massive dose vitamin A solution to the children of under five for the prevention and control of VAD.
Authors and Affiliations
Nimmathota Arlappa, Nagalla Balakrishna, Avula Laxmaiah, GNV Brahmam
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP283942
- DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-16-924
- Views 112
- Downloads 0
Effects of Soy-Milk on Blood Lipids and Total Homocysteine Level in Postmenopausal Women of Bangladesh
Background: Isoflavones are phytoestrogens present in natural sources, and they resemble estradiol in structure and manner of action. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of soy-milk on serum tHcy levels and t...
Oxidative Telomere Attrition, Nutritional Antioxidants and Biological Aging
Telomeres are strings of DNA that are not themselves genes but that extend every chromosome beyond its last gene. Terminal telomeres are sacrificed during every mitotic event in human cells (“telomere attrition”), preser...
Individual Dietary Diversity Score for Diabetic and Hypertensive Patients in Cote d’Ivoire
Unlike developed countries, monitoring of the alimentation quality is important in developing countries. In recent years, several methods of assessing food consumption using simple tools the 24-hour diet recall have been...
Efficacy of a Hypocaloric Mediterranean Diet in Overweight Patients: Factors Predictive of Completion
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a weight loss programme and the factors that predict successful adherence of the treatment. Methodology: A retrospective chart review of 500 overweight outpatients (427 women, 7...
Risk Factors for Stunted Growth among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Rural Uganda
Despite the agreed global and national stunting reduction targets, Uganda has made very little progress. Understanding context-specific risk factors for stunted growth is therefore pertinent to designing programs to addr...