Micronutrient status of populations and preventive nutrition interventions in South East Asia.

Objectives Since the 1990s, programs for the control of micronutrient deficiencies became a public health priority for many governments, including the countries partnering the project "Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to Control Deficiencies and Improve Nutritional Status and General Health in Asia" (SMILING): Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos-PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. The aim of this study was to map which micronutrient deficiencies have been addressed and which interventions were in place in the SMILING countries. Methods The mapping covered the period up to 2012. Updated information from relevant surveys after 2012 is included in this paper after the completion of the SMILING project. The mapping of micronutrient status was limited to either national or at least large-scale surveys. Information on nutrition interventions obtained through a systematic mapping of national programs combined with a snowball collection from various sources. Results Among the five SMILING countries, Thailand differed historically by an early implementation of a nationwide community-based nutrition program, contributing to reductions in undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. For Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, and Vietnam, some national programs addressing micronutrients have been implemented following adjusted international recommendations. National surveys on micronutrient status were scattered and inconsistent across the countries in design and frequency. Conclusion for practice In conclusion, some micronutrient deficiencies were addressed in national interventions but the evidence of effects was generally lacking because of limited nationally representative data collected. Improvement of intervention programs to efficiently reduce or eliminate micronutrient deficiencies requires more systematic monitoring and evaluation of effects of interventions in order to identify best practices.

Effect of storage temperature in a Cambodian field setting on the fatty acid composition in whole blood.

Fatty acid analysis requires standardized collection and storage of samples, which can be a challenge under field conditions. This study describes the effect of storage temperature on fatty acid composition in two sets of whole blood samples collected from 66 children in a rural area in Cambodia. The samples were stored with butylated hydroxytoluene at -20 °C and -80 °C and the latter required extra transfers due to storage facility limitation. Fatty acid composition was analyzed by high-throughput gas-chromatography and evaluated by paired t-tests and Bland-Altman plots. Total amounts of fat in -20 °C and -80 °C samples did not differ, but there was relatively more highly unsaturated fatty acids (15.8 ± 2.7 vs. 14.4 ± 2.5%, p < 0.001) and a lower n-6/n-3 ratio (6.4 ± 1.4 vs. 6.9 ± 1.4, p < 0.001) in the -20 °C samples. Our results indicate that the importance of storage temperature should be evaluated in the context of storage facility availability and risk of temperature fluctuations during transport.