Vitamin A deficiency in southern Ethiopia.

In Arsi and Bale regions of Ethiopia we found an area in which vitamin A deficiency is hyperendemic and linked to monocrop grain farming. The prevalence of mild xerophthalmia is higher in villages than settlements and higher in settlements than towns (p less than 0.001 for both). The prevalence of mild xerophthalmia is higher in males than females (p = 0.03) and the difference cannot be explained by ecological factors. Nutritional status, length of weaning, severe diseases, and intake of food with low-vitamin A content are factors associated with vitamin A deficiency. Length of weaning and severe diseases play a more important role than nutritional status in this study. The prevalence of diarrhea and respiratory diseases was twice as high in children with xerophthalmia than in children without (p less than 0.001 and less than 0.02, respectively). The incidence of measles was higher in children with vitamin A deficiency than in children without, relative risk 4.7 (p = 0.01).