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  • Title: Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia among school-aged children in Southeastern Asia.
    Author: Singh V, West KP.
    Journal: Eur J Clin Nutr; 2004 Oct; 58(10):1342-9. PubMed ID: 15054414.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To determine provisional estimates of the extent of vitamin A (VA) deficiency and xerophthalmia among school-aged children. DESIGN: Literature search of published, unpublished and website-based population survey and study reports, with country-specific imputation of prevalence rates and numbers of children affected by: (1) VA deficiency based on measured or imputed distributions of serum retinol concentration < 0.70 micromol/l (equivalent to < 20 microg/dl) and (2) xerophthalmia, by country. SETTING: Countries within the WHO South-East Asian Region. SUBJECTS: The target group for estimation was children 5-15 y of age. INTERVENTIONS: None. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of VA deficiency is 23.4%, suggesting that there are approximately 83 million VA-deficient school-aged children in the region, of whom 10.9% (9 million, at an overall prevalence of 2.6%) have mild xerophthalmia (night blindness or Bitot's spot). Potentially blinding corneal xerophthalmia appears to be negligible at this age. CONCLUSIONS: VA deficiency, including mild xerophthalmia, appears to affect large numbers of school-aged children in South-East Asia. However, nationally representative data on the prevalence, risk factors and health consequences of VA deficiency among school-aged children are lacking within the region and globally, representing a future public health research priority.
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