Vitamin a deficiency in micronesia: A statewide survey in chuuk

Michele A. Lloyd-Puryear, Joan Mahoney, Jean H. Humphrey, Frank Mahoney, Nachsa Siren, Consuela Moorman, Keith P. West

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vitamin A status was assessed by clinical signs and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC-A) in 455 children 36-83 months of age in 16 at randomly selected villages in Chuuk State. Fourteen percent of the children had a history of night blindness and 6% had Bitot's spots on examination. Nearly half of the children (46%) had abnormal CIC-A status reflecting subclinical vitamin A deficiency. Children abnormal by CIC-A had lower hemoglobin levels (-0.4 μg/dl), were more stunted in their linear growth, and were twice as likely to have had a recent respiratory infection than children with normal CIC-A. Vitamin A deficiency appears to be a serious public health problem in Micronesia.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1101-1110
Number of pages10
JournalNutrition Research
Volume11
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1991

Keywords

  • Micronesia
  • impression cytology
  • vitamin A deficiency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Endocrinology
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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