These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Evidence of grave vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in the semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. A population-based study.
    Author: Ncube TN, Malaba L, Greiner T, Gebre-Medhin M.
    Journal: Eur J Clin Nutr; 2001 Apr; 55(4):229-34. PubMed ID: 11360126.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To assess the vitamin A and iron status of lactating women. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING: A semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and seven lactating women with babies aged 2-12 months. METHODS: Serum retinol (SR) was measured by HPLC, serum ferritin (SF) by ELIZA, haemoglobin (Hb) by HemoCue and C-reactive protein (CRP) by a turbo metric method. A seven-day recall of consumption of vitamin A containing foods was recorded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Relative dose response (RDR), SR, SF, Hb and CRP. RESULTS: Dark green leafy vegetables were the main sources of vitamin A; retinol-containing foods and yellow to red fruits and vegetables were rarely consumed. Five women had elevated CRP and these women had lower SR (P < 0.001) than the rest. Forty percent of the women had vitamin A deficiency (SR < 20 microg/dl), 76% had low liver stores of vitamin A (RDR > 20%) while 15 women had both abnormal SR and abnormal RDR. Forty percent had anaemia (Hb < 12 g/l) while 12% had iron deficiency (SF < 12 microg/dl) and 4% (n = 7) had iron deficiency anaemia. CONCLUSION: Vitamin A and iron deficiencies are problems of public health significance among the lactating women in the Makhaza area.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]