title: Micronutrient status of primary school girls in rural and urban areas of South Vietnam.
abstract: Dietary habits, especially micronutrient intake, and nutritional status of Vietnamese primary school girls were investigated in a cross-sectional survey. We interviewed 284 girls aged 7 to 9 years old, randomly selected from three rural (N=148) and two urban (N=136) primary schools. Dietary data were calculated from the results of 24-h recall interviews over three consecutive days. The dietary micronutrient pattern of the rural group showed deficiency of iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin C. On the contrary, adequate consumption of these elements, except low beta-carotene, was observed in the urban group. Despite a low prevalence of anaemia, the prevalence of rural children with iron deficiency was close to the level regarded as being a public health problem. In contrast, 7.7% of urban children were found to have excessive iron status. Children with exhausted retinol stores (7.1%) requiring immediate retinol supplementation were only found in the rural group. Furthermore, the prevalence of children with marginal retinol stores in both the rural (35.7%) and urban (21.4%) groups was above the level of being a public health problem (20%). In both groups, more than 50% and 20% of children showed beta-carotene and tocopherol levels in the range of severe deficiency, respectively. Thus, nutritional education to improve the dietary habits of the two groups is necessary for Vietnamese primary school children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Japan Women's University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: thi Tuyet Mai
authors.initials: tT
authors.lastname: Ta
authors.forename: thi Kim Hung
authors.initials: tK
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: van Chuyen
authors.initials: vC
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014505:Urban Population; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000172:deficiency
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients; D008903:Minerals; D019207:beta Carotene; D014801:Vitamin A; D024505:Tocopherols