Abolurin Olufunmilola O, Adegbola Adebanjo J, Oyelami Oyeku A, Adegoke Samuel A, Bolaji Oluseye O
Department of Paediatrics, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Niger Postgrad Med J. 2018 Jan-Mar;25(1):13-16. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_20_18.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) constitutes a major nutritional concern in developing countries. It contributes significantly to the morbidity and mortality of under-five children and can result in impaired resistance to infection as well as increased risk of death. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of VAD among Southwestern Nigerian children.
Apparently healthy children aged between 6 months and 5 years were recruited for the study. Their serum retinol levels were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.
Of the 170 children studied, nine (5.3%) had VAD, although none had severe VAD. The prevalence of VAD did not show statistically significant variation with age (P = 0.159), sex (P = 1.000), social class (P = 0.740), immunisation status (P = 0.197) or nutritional status (P = 0.090).
The prevalence of VAD among Nigerian children appears to have reduced, compared with previous reports; however, further studies are required to assess the current national prevalence, so as to design programmes that can achieve further reduction in the proportion of children affected.
维生素A缺乏症（VAD）是发展中国家主要的营养问题。它对五岁以下儿童的发病率和死亡率有重大影响，会导致抗感染能力受损以及死亡风险增加。本研究的目的是确定尼日利亚西南部儿童中维生素A缺乏症的患病率。
招募年龄在6个月至5岁之间、外表健康的儿童参与研究。通过高效液相色谱法测定他们的血清视黄醇水平。
在170名研究对象中，有9名（5.3%）患有维生素A缺乏症，但均无严重维生素A缺乏症。维生素A缺乏症的患病率在年龄（P = 0.159）、性别（P = 1.000）、社会阶层（P = 0.740）、免疫状况（P = 0.197）或营养状况（P = 0.090）方面均未显示出统计学上的显著差异。
与之前的报告相比，尼日利亚儿童中维生素A缺乏症的患病率似乎有所下降；然而，需要进一步研究以评估当前全国患病率，从而设计出能够进一步降低受影响儿童比例的方案。
