title: Status of carotenoids, vitamin A, and vitamin E in the mother-infant dyad and anthropometric status of infants in Malawi.
abstract: This prospective study was carried out during February 2000-April 2003 to characterize the relationship between the status of carotenoids, vitamin E, and retinol and anthropometric status in apparently healthy infants and their mothers in Blantyre, Malawi. Anthropometric status of infants and concentrations of carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene), retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in plasma were measured in 173 infants at 12 months of age, and concentrations of carotenoids, retinol, and a-tocopherol in plasma were measured in their mothers two weeks postpartum. In multivariate analyses, concentrations of retinol, total carotenoids, non-provitamin A carotenoids, and alpha-tocopherol in infants were associated with under-weight (p = 0.05). Concentrations of a-tocopherol were associated with wasting (p = 0.04). Concentrations in mothers and infants were all correlated (correlation coefficients from 0.230 to 0.502, p < 0.003). The findings suggest that poor status of carotenoids, retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in infants is associated with their poor anthropometric status, and status of carotenoids, retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in mothers and infants has a low-to-moderate association in the mother-infant dyad.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. bdanche1@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dancheck
authors.forename: Veronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nussenblatt
authors.forename: Newton
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumwenda
authors.forename: Valentino
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lema
authors.forename: Margaret C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Broadhead
authors.forename: Taha E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Taha
authors.forename: Michelle O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Ricks
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Semba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008295:Malawi; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E; D002338:Carotenoids