Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia among school-aged children in Southeastern Asia.
OBJECTIVE
To determine provisional estimates of the extent of vitamin A (VA) deficiency and xerophthalmia among school-aged children.


METHODS
Literature search of published, unpublished and website-based population survey and study reports, with country-specific imputation of prevalence rates and numbers of children affected by: (1) VA deficiency based on measured or imputed distributions of serum retinol concentration < 0.70 micromol/l (equivalent to < 20 microg/dl) and (2) xerophthalmia, by country.


METHODS
Countries within the WHO South-East Asian Region.


METHODS
The target group for estimation was children 5-15 y of age.


METHODS
None.


RESULTS
The estimated prevalence of VA deficiency is 23.4%, suggesting that there are approximately 83 million VA-deficient school-aged children in the region, of whom 10.9% (9 million, at an overall prevalence of 2.6%) have mild xerophthalmia (night blindness or Bitot's spot). Potentially blinding corneal xerophthalmia appears to be negligible at this age.


CONCLUSIONS
VA deficiency, including mild xerophthalmia, appears to affect large numbers of school-aged children in South-East Asia. However, nationally representative data on the prevalence, risk factors and health consequences of VA deficiency among school-aged children are lacking within the region and globally, representing a future public health research priority.
Singh
V
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Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
West
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D000293:Adolescent; D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
D014801:Vitamin A