title: Vitamin A deficiency among preschool children in a rural area of Egypt: the results of dietary assessment and biochemical assay.
abstract: Vitamin A status was evaluated among a cohort of preschool children (mean age 43 months) pertinent to a traditional society in rural Egypt. The Helen Keller International food frequency questionnaire, the 7-day 24-h dietary recall method and serum vitamin A concentrations were the criteria used for the evaluation. Mean values of 280 and 382 retinol equivalents (RE) were the daily estimates of vitamin A intakes among male and female children, respectively. Animal foods made up 39 and 54% of the total vitamin A intake among male and female children, respectively. The aforementioned estimates of total vitamin A intakes were 58 and 81%, respectively, of the FAO/WHO requirements (35 RE/kg). Children from high socio-economic class had significantly higher (P < 0.05) mean vitamin A intake compared with the respective mean intake obtained with poor children. Serum vitamin A concentrations correlated significantly with the respective vitamin A intakes. A 10-week vitamin A intervention trial using either pharmaceutical vitamin A preparations or a food-based strategy consisting of carrot jam led to significant improvement in the growth velocity of the beneficiaries compared with the control group.
authors.affiliation: National Research Center, Department of Nutrition, Giza-Dokki 12311, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ali Ezz
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: el-Arab
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hussein
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012423:Rural Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A