Consumption of vitamin A by breastfeeding children in rural Kenya.
Vitamin A deficiency remains a significant health risk in developing countries, affecting infants and children in particular. To counter child malnutrition, mothers are encouraged to breastfeed to ensure that their children receive adequate macro- and micronutrients, including vitamin A. However, this assumes that the mother has sufficient vitamin A intake to provide enough vitamin A to her child. This study investigates maternal and infant intakes of locally available foods of high vitamin A content in a rural agricultural community in Kenya. The study aims to establish the community risk for vitamin A deficiency and to assess whether breast milk is adequate to maintain and build retinol reserves of the breastfed infant. The study assesses 62 mother-child pairs and employs several methods to support its objectives, including the Helen Keller International food-frequency survey, maternal and infant anthropometric measurements, and maternal breast-milk and blood samples to determine breast-milk and serum retinol levels. We found that mothers with marginal (< 0.700 micromol/l) serum retinol and breast-milk deficient (< 1.05 micromol/l) in retinol accounted for 45.2% and 77.4%, of our sample, respectively. A significant (p < 0.05) proportion (40.3%) of mothers had breast milk deficient in retinol and marginal levels of serum retinol. The risk of vitamin A deficiency in breastfed infants older than six months was high, because 89.5% of them did not consume foods high in vitamin A content three times weekly. The primary source of vitamin A for infants younger than six months was breast-milk deficient in retinol vitamin A. This study suggests that in this rural community, breastfed infants may not receive appropriate foods with high vitamin A content and that although exclusive breastfeeding is advocated, most breast milk is deficient in retinol, further heightening the risk of vitamin A deficiency.
Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Moi University, PO Box 4606, Eldoret, Kenya. gaettyang@yahoo.com
Grace
G
Ettyang
Aggrey
A
Oloo
Wauter
W
van Marken Lichtenbelt
Wim
W
Saris
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D007774:Lactation / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012423:Rural Health; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
D014801:Vitamin A