Discussion on Vitamin A Supplementation in Childhood

摘要

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a very common public health problem in more than half of the world, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia, with young children and pregnant women in low-income countries being hardest hit. The WHO estimates that 250 million preschool children have VAD and that a substantial proportion of pregnant women in VAD geographic areas is vitamin A deficient. Globally, between 1995 and 2005, approx5.2 million preschool children and approx9.7 million pregnant women were affected by night blindness. If retinol concentrations <70 mumol/1 are reviewed, 190 million children have low levels of retinol compared to 19 million pregnant women. For children, VAD significantly increases the risk of severe illness, and even death from common illnesses such as diarrhea and measles. For pregnant women, VAD occurs during the last trimester and the mother presents with night, blindness. The relationship or association of VAD and vertical transmission of HIV remains to be clarified.