[Vitamin A: blood level and dietetics intake in stunted children and adolescents without hormonal disease].

OBJECTIVES

To determine the vitamin A intake and the blood levels of carotenoids and retinol in stunted children and adolescents without hormonal disease, assisted in the Clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology of the Center for Nutrition and Child Development--Department of Health, State of São Paulo, Brazil.

METHODS

We evaluated, in a prospective and randomized trial, 47 prepubertal patients between 4 and 14 years old. All patients were submitted to anthropometric evaluation, bone age, bioelectric impedance and serum retional and carotenoid levels.

RESULTS

The average of the stature z score was -2.4; 20% of the patients were undernourished, 25.5% they had inadequacy of the fat mass as well as larger delay of the bone age. The more stunted the patients the lower were the carotenoid levels. There was no relationship between the levels of retinol and carotenoids and the growth velocity. In 82.9% of the recall record of food intake, the vitamin A intake was lower than 50% of the established one in the Food Guide Pyramid.

CONCLUSION

There is a high prevalence of malnutrition, bone age delay and inadequacy of the levels of carotenoids and vitamin A intake in stunted children and adolescents.