TY - JOUR
T1 - Vitamin A supplementation in Cambodia
T2 - Program coverage and association with greater maternal formal education
AU - Grover, Davinder S.
AU - de Pee, Saskia
AU - Sun, Kai
AU - Raju, V. K.
AU - Bloem, Martin W.
AU - Semba, Richard D.
PY - 2008/9
Y1 - 2008/9
N2 - Vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity, mortality, and blindness among children in developing countries. The objective of this study is to characterize the coverage of the Cambodian national vitamin A program among preschool children and to identify risk factors for not receiving vitamin A supplementation. The study subjects were preschool children and their families who participated in the 2005 Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), a nationally representative survey. Of 1,547 preschool children, aged 12-59 months, 42.8% received a vitamin A capsule within the last six months. There were no significant differences in paternal education, child age, fever within the last 2 weeks, stunting, underweight, or wasting between children who did or did not receive a vitamin A capsule. Maternal education of ≥10 years (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.02 - 4.29), 7-9 years (OR 1.46, 95% CI 0.99 - 2.15), 4-6 years (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.26 - 2.32), and 1-3 years (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.10 - 2.06) was associated with the child receiving a vitamin A capsule compared to no formal education in multivariate analyses adjusting for other potential confounders. The national vitamin A supplementation program in Cambodia did not reach over one-half of preschool children in 2005. Greater maternal formal education appears to be an important determinant for receipt of a vitamin A capsule by preschool children.
AB - Vitamin A supplementation reduces morbidity, mortality, and blindness among children in developing countries. The objective of this study is to characterize the coverage of the Cambodian national vitamin A program among preschool children and to identify risk factors for not receiving vitamin A supplementation. The study subjects were preschool children and their families who participated in the 2005 Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), a nationally representative survey. Of 1,547 preschool children, aged 12-59 months, 42.8% received a vitamin A capsule within the last six months. There were no significant differences in paternal education, child age, fever within the last 2 weeks, stunting, underweight, or wasting between children who did or did not receive a vitamin A capsule. Maternal education of ≥10 years (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.02 - 4.29), 7-9 years (OR 1.46, 95% CI 0.99 - 2.15), 4-6 years (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.26 - 2.32), and 1-3 years (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.10 - 2.06) was associated with the child receiving a vitamin A capsule compared to no formal education in multivariate analyses adjusting for other potential confounders. The national vitamin A supplementation program in Cambodia did not reach over one-half of preschool children in 2005. Greater maternal formal education appears to be an important determinant for receipt of a vitamin A capsule by preschool children.
KW - Cambodia
KW - Morbidity
KW - Mortality
KW - Nutritional blindness
KW - Vitamin A
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M3 - Article
C2 - 18818165
AN - SCOPUS:58949093516
SN - 0964-7058
VL - 17
SP - 446
EP - 450
JO - Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition
JF - Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition
IS - 3
ER -