Impact of vitamin A supplementation on childhood mortality. A randomised controlled community trial.
450 villages in northern Sumatra were randomly assigned to either participate in a vitamin A supplementation scheme (n = 229) or serve for 1 year as a control (n = 221). 25 939 preschool children were examined at baseline and again 11 to 13 months later. Capsules containing 200 000 IU vitamin A were distributed to preschool children aged over 1 year by local volunteers 1 to 3 months after baseline enumeration and again 6 months later. Among children aged 12-71 months at baseline, mortality in control villages (75/10 231, 7.3 per 1000) was 49% greater than in those where supplements were given (53/10 919, 4.9 per 1000) (p less than 0.05). The impact of vitamin A supplementation seemed to be greater in boys than in girls. These results support earlier observations linking mild vitamin A deficiency to increased mortality and suggest that supplements given to vitamin A deficient populations may decrease mortality by as much as 34%.
Sommer
A
A
Tarwotjo
I
I
Djunaedi
E
E
West
K P
KP
Loeden
A A
AA
Tilden
R
R
Mele
L
L
D002214:Capsules; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003153:Community Health Services; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D011897:Random Allocation; D012423:Rural Health; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000517:prevention & control; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000517:prevention & control
D002214:Capsules; D014801:Vitamin A