title: Vitamin A status of children in Sri Lanka.
abstract: A representative country-wide rural nutrition status survey determined the extent and distribution of vitamin A deficiency in Sri Lanka in children 6 through 71 months of age. Trained paramedical personnel recorded the presence or absence of selected ophthalmological signs and symptoms associated with vitamin A deficiency in 13,450 children. The results of the country-wide clinical survey indicate that a vitamin A deficiency problem of public health importance may exist in two of 15 health areas. Serum vitamin A levels were determined on 346 survey children from two of 15 health areas and compared with clinical findings for these areas. The lowest mean serum vitamin A, 26.3 microgram/100 ml, occurred in children with clinical eye findings. A high prevalence of clinical eye findings, 34%, and the low mean serum vitamin A value, 28.2 microgram/100 ml, were found in the group of chronically undernourished children--children who are less than 90% of their expected height for age. The survey results enabled planned redirection of the distribution of vitamin A capsules to preschool children in Sri Lanka to areas shown to have the highest prevalences of ophthalmological signs and symptoms and/or the highest prevalence of chronic undernutrition.
mesh_terms: D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008297:Male; D009755:Night Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013188:Sri Lanka; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*