Vitamin A status of pregnant women in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria.

The vitamin A status of 101 pregnant women attending clinic at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar, Nigeria was assessed based on 24 h dietary recall, serum retinol concentration, history of night blindness, physical appearance and clinical eye signs. The study revealed that the mean dietary vitamin A intake of the respondents (2645.31 +/- 188.91 microg RE) and their mean serum retinol concentration (31.18 +/- 2.94 microg dL(-1)) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the FAO/WHO recommended intake and cutoff level for VAD. No case of night blindness, physical signs and symptoms, or clinical eye signs attributable to VAD was observed. There was a significant (p < 0.01) correlation between the amount of 24 h vitamin A intake of the women and their serum retinol concentration (r = 0.31). Also, women who had above 50% of their vitamin A intake from provitamin A sources had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower serum retinol concentration (23.10 +/- 21.12 microg dL(-1)) than those who had above 50% intake from preformed sources (49.54 +/- 42.63 microg dL(-1)) and those with about equal intake from both sources (55.75 +/- 30.80 microg dL(-1)). There was a significant (p < 0.05) and steady decline in serum retinol concentration in the women from the first trimester (37.79 +/- 6.65 microg dL(-1)), through the second trimester (35.12 +/- 4.72 microg dL(-1)), to the third trimester (21.54 +/- 1.46 microg dL(-1)) of pregnancy.