Ethnic and racial differences in serum vitamin A levels of children aged 4-11 years.
Interpretation of differences in serum vitamin A levels observed between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children may be complicated by confounding environmental factors. Data from the Mexican-American portion of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to explore these differences in 4-11-y-old Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks and whites before and after accounting for vitamin-mineral supplement use and poverty status. Initial differences in mean serum vitamin A levels and prevalences less than 20 micrograms/dL (0.70 mumol/L) or less than 25 micrograms/dL (0.87 mumol/L) among the three ethnic or racial groups were reduced or eliminated after accounting for the two descriptive variables. These results support the hypothesis that differences in serum vitamin A levels between Mexican-American and non-Hispanic children in the United States are due more to environmental factors than to ethnicity.
Looker
A C
AC
Division of Health Examination Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Johnson
C L
CL
Woteki
C E
CE
Yetley
E A
EA
Underwood
B A
BA
D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012016:Reference Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014481:United States; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
D014131:Trace Elements; D014815:Vitamins; D014801:Vitamin A