Correlates of vitamin A deficiency among Indian rural preschool-age children.

PURPOSE: In India, 52,000 children go blind every year on account of vitamin A deficiency. The purpose of the study was to determine the correlates of vitamin A deficiency among 4,205 preschool-age children.

METHODS

Case-control study in Bihta Primary Health Center area, Bihar, India. Main outcome measures were dietary habits, maternal literacy, and birth order.

RESULTS

Vitamin A deficiency was found to be significantly higher (p<0.01) in children on a vegetarian diet (7.14%) (OR 5.32). Children born to a literate mother had a prevalence of only 1.35% in relation to a corresponding value of 4.11% in children born to illiterate mothers (p<0.01) (OR 3.15). Birth order of preschool-age children was significantly related to vitamin A deficiency. In birth order less than or equal to three, the prevalence was 2.81%, in comparison to those with birth order four or more, in whom the magnitude was significantly higher (p<0.01) at 5.61% (OR 2.08).