Impact of massive doses of vitamin A on nutritional blindness in Bangladesh
1987
Cohen, N. | Rahman, H. | Mitra, M. | Sprague, J. | Islam, S. | de Regt, E.L. | Jalil, M.A.
Extract: Impact of 6-monthly massive dosings of preschool-age children with oral vitamin A (VAC: 200 000 IU of oil soluble retinyl palmitate with 40 IU vitamin E) was evaluated in Bangladesh. In 100 sites, 11 889 households were visited and eyes of 22 335 children aged 3-71 mo were examined. About half the rural target population and less than 20% urban slum population were being reached. Risk of night blindness was halved for children reportedly given VAC, although 2.5% of the reportedly protected population were still night blind. There was no significant reduction in prevalence of Bitot's spot. Risk of corneal ulcers or keratomalacia (X3A/B) was 2.7 times higher in children not given VAC. Based on reported coverage, efficacy of protection against potentially blinding corneal lesions was 63%. For maximum impact on eye lesions, massive dosing with vitamin A at ideally less than 6-monthly intervals needs to be combined with other nutrition and health interventions.(author)
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