title: Comparison on the status of vitamin A in 6- to 13- year-old children between 2002 and 2012 in China.
abstract: Vitamin A deficiency is recognized as a major public-health nutrition issue in the developing countries. Limited hospital sources and sample sizes are available in most of the existing studies associated with healthy school-age children. The aim of this study was to compare vitamin A status of 6- to 13-year-old healthy children in China between 2002 and 2012.
  
  
  
  According to China National Nutrition and Health Survey 2002 (CHNNS2002) and CHNNS2010-2013, we choose 6- to 13-year-old children as the research object. We measure the serum retinol concentrations of the children using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The children were divided into two groups: 6- to 9-year-old and 10- to 13-year-old. The areas were divided into urban and rural area.
  
  
  
  Total number of the children (6- to 13-year old) was 8170 in 2002 survey, and it was 6016 in 2012 survey. In 2012, the vitamin A level of the children was higher than that in 2002 (t = 39.26, p = 0.000). The level of vitamin A in 10- to 13-year-old group was higher than that in 6- to 9-year-old group across areas and genders between 2002 and 2012. There was no difference on the incidence of vitamin A deficiency in all the children between 2002 and 2012, but in 2012 the incidence of vitamin A deficiency in the urban children was higher than that in 2002 (x (2) = 45.456,p = 0.000). The incidence of vitamin A deficiency in 10- to 13-year-old group was lower than that in 10- to 13-year-old group across areas and genders between 2002 and 2012. In 2012, the incidence of marginal vitamin A deficiency in the children was lower than that in 2002 (x (2) = 861.604, p = 0.000). Similar phenomena were also found in across area groups. The incidence of marginal vitamin A deficiency in 10- to 13-year-old group was lower than that in 6- to 9-year-old group across areas and genders between 2002 and 2012. There was no difference in vitamin A status of the children across the area, gender and age groups between 2002 and 2012.
  
  
  
  Vitamin A nutritional status of the children in 2012 has been significantly improved compared with that in 2002. However, vitamin A deficiency was still a moderate public health problem in Chinese children, especially in younger school-age children. Consequently, controlling the incidence of vitamin a deficiency is imperative for promoting Chinese children's health.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.|Jinnan District Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Tianjin, Tianjin, 300350, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Chunfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Yajie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Trace Element Nutrition, National Health and Family Planning Commission of the people's Republic of China, Department of Trace Element Nutrition, National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 236, Nanwei Road No.29, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, China. xgyangcdc@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A
keywords: Children; China; Vitamin A status