Risk factors for anaemia among women and their young children hospitalised with suspected thiamine deficiency in northern Lao PDR.

Anaemia among women and young children remains a major public health concern. This secondary study describes the anaemia prevalence among young hospitalised children and their mothers in northern Lao People's Democratic Republic and explores possible nutritional causes and risk factors for anaemia. Hospitalised children (ages 21 days to <18 months) with clinical symptoms suggestive of thiamine deficiency disorders were eligible along with their mothers. Venous blood was collected for determination of haemoglobin, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), retinol-binding protein (RBP), erythrocyte glutathione reductase activation coefficient (EGRac), thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) and acute phase proteins. Risk factors for anaemia were modelled using minimally adjusted logistic regression controlling for age. Haemoglobin results were available for 436 women (mean ± SD age 24.7 ± 6.4 years; 1.6% pregnant) and 427 children (4.3 ± 3.5 months; 60.3% male). Anaemia prevalence (Hb < 120 g/L for nonpregnant women and <110 g/L for pregnant women and children) was 30.7% among women and 55.2% among children. In bivariate analyses, biomarkers significantly associated with anaemia in women were ferritin, sTfR, RBP, EGRac and ThDP. Other risk factors for women were lower BMI, mid-upper arm circumference < 23.5 cm, lower education, lower socioeconomic index, food insecurity, Hmong ethnicity, not/rarely having attended antenatal care, not having taken antenatal iron-containing supplements and not meeting minimum dietary diversity. Risk factors for anaemia among children were older age, male sex, stunting, sTfR, ThDP and alpha-1-acid-glycoprotein. Anaemia was common among women and their hospitalised children and was associated with micronutrient deficiencies and socioeconomic, dietary and health care-seeking risk factors, suggesting that multiple strategies are required to prevent anaemia among women and children.

Nutrition and health-seeking practices during pregnancy and lactation and potential strategies to increase micronutrient intakes among women in northern Lao PDR.

Access to and utilisation of antenatal care (ANC) is important for optimising health and nutrition during pregnancy. This study aimed to assess adherence to and factors associated with ANC and antenatal supplement use among Laotian women, and consider culturally appropriate strategies to increase micronutrient intakes. Mother-child (aged 21 d to <18 months) dyads (n 699) enrolled in a hospital-based prospective cohort study with the community comparison group in Luang Prabang province were interviewed about their antenatal history, supplement use, household sociodemographic and dietary practices, including postpartum food avoidances. Ninety percent of women (mean age 24⋅7 ± 6⋅3 years) reported receiving ANC during their pregnancy, with the majority reporting four to seven contacts, while 84⋅6 and 17⋅3 % reported supplement use during pregnancy and lactation, respectively. Adequate ANC contacts (≥8) and supplement use was more likely among women with complete primary education and from higher socioeconomic status households, and less likely among women belonging to ethnic minority populations and those who delivered their child at home. All women continued to consume salt while adhering to postpartum food avoidances; however, 58⋅5 and 38⋅7 % of habitual consumers restricted fish and soy sauces, respectively. Eighty-six percent of women reported they would be willing to take supplements when adhering to postpartum dietary restrictions. Overall, women's reported ANC attendance and antenatal supplement use was suboptimal. Understanding predictors of and barriers to ANC and supplement use may help implement effective public health strategies to improve adherence. Alongside targeted supplementation, salt fortification with micronutrients may be a viable population-wide intervention that needs further evaluation.

Thiamine fortification strategies in low- and middle-income settings: a review.

Thiamine (vitamin B1 ) is an essential micronutrient in energy metabolism and cognitive and neurological health. Thiamine deficiency disorders (TDDs) have a range of clinical presentations that result in various morbidities and can be fatal if not promptly recognized and treated, especially in infants. To intervene, thiamine intakes by breastfeeding mothers and others at risk of thiamine deficiency should be increased to ensure adequate thiamine intake. Although thiamine fortification programs have a long history in high-income countries, there are few mandatory fortification programs to address TDDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in the regions of greatest concern, South and Southeast Asia. This review highlights essential aspects for consideration in the development of a mandatory fortification program in LMICs, including an overview of the data required to model fortification dosing schemes, available thiamine fortificants, and potential fortification vehicles, as well as identifies current knowledge gaps.

Winter Cholecalciferol Supplementation at 51°N Has No Effect on Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Healthy Adolescents Aged 14-18 Years.

Background: Epidemiologic studies have supported inverse associations between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and cardiometabolic risk markers, but few randomized trials have investigated the effect of vitamin D supplementation on these markers in adolescents. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of winter-time cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) supplementation on cardiometabolic risk markers in white, healthy 14- to 18-y-old adolescents in the UK (51°N) as part of the ODIN Project. Methods: In a dose-response trial, 110 adolescents (mean ± SD age: 15.9 ± 1.4 y; 43% male; 81% normal weight) were randomly assigned to receive 0, 10 or 20 µg/d vitamin D3 for 20 wk (October-March). Cardiometabolic risk markers including BMI-for-age z score (BMIz), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma triglycerides, cholesterol (total, HDL, LDL, and total:HDL), and glucose were measured at baseline and endpoint as secondary outcomes, together with serum 25(OH)D. Intervention effects were evaluated in linear regression models as between-group differences at endpoint, adjusted for the baseline value of the outcome variable and additionally for age, sex, Tanner stage, BMIz, and baseline serum 25(OH)D. Results: Mean ± SD baseline serum 25(OH)D was 49.1 ± 12.3 nmol/L and differed between groups at endpoint with concentrations of 30.7 ± 8.6, 56.6 ± 12.4, and 63.9 ± 10.6 nmol/L in the 0, 10, and 20 µg/d groups, respectively (P ≤ 0.001). Vitamin D3 supplementation had no effect on any of the cardiometabolic risk markers (all P > 0.05), except for lower HDL (-0.12 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.21, 0.04 mmol/L; P = 0.003) and total cholesterol (-0.21 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.42, 0.00 mmol/L; P = 0.05) in the 20 µg/d than in the 10 µg/d group, which disappeared in the fully adjusted analysis (P = 0.27 and P = 0.30, respectively). Conclusions: Supplementation with vitamin D3 at 10 and 20 µg/d, which increased serum 25(OH)D concentrations during the winter-time, had no effect on markers of cardiometabolic risk in healthy 14- to 18-y-old adolescents. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02150122.

Winter Cholecalciferol Supplementation at 55°N Has No Effect on Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Healthy Children Aged 4-8 Years.

Background: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] has been associated with unfavorable cardiometabolic risk profiles in many observational studies in children, but very few randomized controlled trials have investigated this. Objective: We explored the effect of winter-time cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) supplementation on cardiometabolic risk markers in young, white, 4- to 8-y-old healthy Danish children (55°N) as part of the pan-European ODIN project. Methods: In the ODIN Junior double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response trial, 119 children (mean ± SD age: 6.7 ± 1.5 y; 36% male; 82% normal weight) were randomly allocated to 0, 10 or 20 µg/d of vitamin D3 for 20 wk (October-March). Cardiometabolic risk markers including BMI-for-age z score (BMIz), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides and cholesterol (total, LDL, HDL, and total:HDL), plasma glucose and insulin, and whole-blood glycated hemoglobin were measured at baseline and endpoint as secondary outcomes together with serum 25(OH)D. Intervention effects were evaluated in linear regression models as between-group differences at endpoint adjusted for baseline value of the outcome, and additionally for age, sex, baseline serum 25(OH)D, BMIz, time since breakfast, and breakfast content. Results: Mean ± SD serum 25(OH)D was 56.7 ± 12.3 nmol/L at baseline and differed between groups at endpoint with concentrations of 31.1 ± 7.5, 61.8 ± 10.6, and 75.8 ± 11.5 nmol/L in the 0-, 10-, and 20 µg/d groups, respectively (P < 0.0001). Vitamin D3 supplementation had no effect on any of the cardiometabolic risk markers in analyses adjusted for baseline value of the outcome (all P ≥ 0.05), and additional covariate adjustment did not change the results notably. Conclusions: Preventing the winter decline in serum 25(OH)D with daily vitamin D3 supplementation of 10 or 20 µg had no cardiometabolic effects in healthy 4- to 8-y-old Danish children. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02145195.

Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in white children aged 4-8 y: a randomized, controlled, dose-response trial.

BACKGROUND: Children in northern latitudes are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency during winter because of negligible dermal vitamin D3 production. However, to our knowledge, the dietary requirement for maintaining the nutritional adequacy of vitamin D in young children has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish the distribution of vitamin D intakes required to maintain winter serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations above the proposed cutoffs (25, 30, 40, and 50 nmol/L) in white Danish children aged 4-8 y living at 55°N. DESIGN: In a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial 119 children (mean age: 6.7 y) were assigned to 0 (placebo), 10, or 20 µg vitamin D3/d supplementation for 20 wk. We measured anthropometry, dietary vitamin D, and serum 25(OH)D with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry at baseline and endpoint. RESULTS: The mean ± SD baseline serum 25(OH)D was 56.7 ± 12.3 nmol/L (range: 28.7-101.4 nmol/L). Serum 25(OH)D increased by a mean ± SE of 4.9 ± 1.3 and 17.7 ± 1.8 nmol/L in the groups receiving 10 and 20 µg vitamin D3/d, respectively, and decreased by 24.1 ± 1.2 nmol/L in the placebo group (P < 0.001). A nonlinear model of serum 25(OH)D as a function of total vitamin D intake (diet and supplements) was fit to the data. The estimated vitamin D intakes required to maintain winter serum 25(OH)D >30 (avoiding deficiency) and >50 nmol/L (ensuring adequacy) in 97.5% of participants were 8.3 and 19.5 µg/d, respectively, and 4.4 µg/d was required to maintain serum 25(OH)D >40 nmol/L in 50% of participants. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D intakes between 8 and 20 µg/d are required by white 4- to 8-y-olds during winter in northern latitudes to maintain serum 25(OH)D >30-50 nmol/L depending on chosen serum 25(OH)D threshold. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02145195.

Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in adolescents aged 14-18 y: a dose-response, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents are a population group at high risk of low vitamin D status, yet the evidence base for establishing dietary vitamin D requirements remains weak. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to establish the distribution of vitamin D intakes required to maintain serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations above proposed cutoffs (25, 30, 40, and 50 nmol/L) during winter in white males and females (14-18 y of age) in the United Kingdom (51°N). DESIGN: In a dose-response trial, 110 adolescents (aged 15.9 ± 1.4 y; 43% males) were randomly assigned to receive 0, 10, or 20 µg vitamin D3 supplements/d for 20 wk during winter. A nonlinear regression model was fit to total vitamin D intake and postintervention serum 25(OH)D concentrations, and regression-predicted values estimated the vitamin D intakes required to maintain serum 25(OH)D concentrations above specific cutoffs. RESULTS: Mean ± SD serum 25(OH)D concentrations increased from 49.2 ± 12.0 to 56.6 ± 12.4 nmol/L and from 51.7 ± 13.4 to 63.9 ± 10.6 nmol/L in the 10- and 20-µg/d groups, respectively, and decreased in the placebo group from 46.8 ± 11.4 to 30.7 ± 8.6 nmol/L (all P ≤ 0.001). Vitamin D intakes required to maintain 25(OH)D concentrations >25 and >30 nmol/L in 97.5% of adolescents were estimated to be 10.1 and 13.1 µg/d, respectively, and 6.6 µg/d to maintain 50% of adolescents at concentrations >40 nmol/L. Because the response of 25(OH)D reached a plateau at 46 nmol/L, there is uncertainty in estimating the vitamin D intake required to maintain 25(OH)D concentrations >50 nmol/L in 97.5% of adolescents, but it exceeded 30 µg/d. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D intakes between 10 and ∼30 µg/d are required by white adolescents during winter to maintain serum 25(OH)D concentrations >25-50 nmol/L, depending on the serum 25(OH)D threshold chosen. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02150122 and as International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN40736890.