Effectiveness of vitamin A supplementation among children under 5 years old in Kazakhstan

Micronutrient sufficiency leads to high rates of morbidity and mortality among children in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan does not have a program for mandatory vitamin A supplementation of children under 5 years of age. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a pilot vitamin A supplementation program among children in Kazakhstan with the ultimate goal of informing future vitamin supplementation efforts. In Akmola and Kostanay regions of Kazakhstan, 529 children (aged 6-59 months) were randomly selected in each region through the local policlinics. In the first step of the study, mothers of the children were surveyed about the health status of their children using a standard data collection tool. Children were supplemented with Vitamin A using oral at a dose of 100,000 IU for children aged 6-11 months and 200,000 IU for children aged 12-59 months. Blood serum samples were collected for determining Vitamin A status. In the second step of the study, mothers were interviewed again about the health status of their children 6 months after the intervention and blood serum samples were collected to assess the efficacy of Vitamin A supplementation program. The number of self reported diarrhea cases and other intestinal infections significantly decreased after the vitamin A supplementation. The number of children with normal level of Vitamin A signficantly increased from before to after the intervention.  Data from all participants (n = 529; pre VAS and 501 post VAS) showed that mean serum retinol levels increased significantly post VAS from 30.01 ±0.5 µg/dL to 61.06 ±1.2 µg/dL (p <0.001) Likewise, a significant change was observed in the cases of reported diarrhea between pre-test and post-test assessments (30 vs. 95; p <0.01). The health status of the examined children in the Akmola and Kostanay regions had significantly improved after the vitamin A supplementation and it points to the necessity of implementing Vitamin A supplementation program on the national level. This study has important policy implications for recommending the supplementation program on the national scale.