Vitamin A supplementation but not deworming improves growth of malnourished preschool children in eastern Zaire.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in eastern Zaire to assess the effects of high dose vitamin A supplementation and regular deparasitation on the growth of 358 moderately malnourished preschool children, discharged from the hospital. The treatment groups received either vitamin A (60 mg of oily solution of retinyl palmitate, 30 mg if aged <12 mo) every 6 mo or mebendazole (500 mg) every 3 mo; the control group received no supplementation. Anthropometric data were gathered at baseline and after 6 and 12 mo of follow-up. Serum retinol concentrations were measured at baseline and after 3 mo. The three groups did not differ in sociodemographic indicators, age and sex composition, nutritional status and serum retinol concentrations at baseline. In children who were vitamin A deficient at baseline, adjusted mean weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) increments were higher in the vitamin A-supplemented group than in the control group [annual increment in weight and MUAC in vitamin A vs. control group: 2.088 vs. 1.179 kg (P = 0.029) and 2.24 vs. 0.95 cm (P = 0.012), respectively], whereas growth increment did not differ between the dewormed group and the control group. In children who were not vitamin A deficient at baseline, growth increment did not differ between the vitamin A-supplemented and control groups, whereas weight gain was lower in the dewormed group than in the control group. Vitamin A-supplemented boys gained more weight and height than control boys, whereas vitamin A-supplemented girls gained less height than control girls. Dewormed boys and girls gained less weight than control boys and girls. Programs to improve vitamin A status by high dose vitamin A supplementation may improve growth of preschool children who are vitamin A deficient, whereas deworming does not.

Vitamin A deficiency and protein-energy malnutrition in a sample of pre-school age children in the Kivu Province in Zaire.

OBJECTIVE: To assess pre-school age children's vitamin A status in a population where protein-energy malnutrition is endemic and serum retinol binding protein and transtyretin concentrations are low. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Health district of Katana, South-Kivu, Zaire. SUBJECTS: 415 pre-school age children. METHODS: Three methods were used to assess vitamin A status: ophtalmological examination, retinol serum concentration and Relative Dose Response (RDR) test. RESULTS: The only ophthalmological signs of vitamin A deficiency appeared in two cases of night blindness, which represents a prevalence of 0.7%. Deficient serum retinol concentration (< 0.35 mumol/l) was found in 19.7% of the whole study population and in 10.4% of non-infected children in good nutritional status. RDR test carried out on a reduced sample of 79 subjects was abnormal for 7.6% of the children but showed a low sensitivity when compared with serum retinol concentration. CONCLUSION: This survey suggests that in this population of the South-Kivu Province in Zaire, vitamin A deficiency co-exists with protein-energy malnutrition and is a public health problem even with non-malnourished and non-infected children.