Biomaterial Database

Vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia in western Yemen. 1996

D S Rosen, and Z al Sharif, and M Bashir, and A al Shabooti, and L D Pizzarello

Helen Keller International, New York, USA.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of xerophthalmia and the extent of vitamin A deficiency in western Yemen. METHODS A stratified cluster sample of children aged 1-5 years with clinical examination for signs of xerophthalmia as well as blood serum survey. METHODS The 18 districts of western Yemen, of which 10 clusters were chosen at random. METHODS All children aged 1-5 years resident in the cluster sites (n = 2438). METHODS Clinical signs of xerophthalmia, a history of night blindness, serum retinol levels in a random sample of clinically normal children (n =338) in addition to all children with xerophthalmia. RESULTS Night blindness was found in 0.5% of the children, Bitot's spots in 1.7%, corneal ulceration in 0.04% and corneal scars in 0.04% Of the subsample, 7.2% (95% confidence interval [c.i.] 4.4-10.0%) had serum retinol values below 10 micrograms/dl; 63.0% (95% c.i. 57.6- 68.4%) had values below 20 micrograms/dl. CONCLUSIONS Xerophthalmia and vitamin A deficiency are public health problems in western Yemen.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D009749	Nutrition Surveys	A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to the nutritional status of a human population within a given geographic area. Data from these surveys are used in preparing NUTRITION ASSESSMENTS.	NHANES,National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,Nutritional Surveys,Nutrition Survey,Nutritional Survey,Survey, Nutrition,Survey, Nutritional,Surveys, Nutrition,Surveys, Nutritional
D011159	Population Surveillance	Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.	Surveillance, Population
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012423	Rural Health	The status of health in rural populations.	Health, Rural
D014802	Vitamin A Deficiency	A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of VITAMIN A in the diet, characterized by NIGHT BLINDNESS and other ocular manifestations such as dryness of the conjunctiva and later of the cornea (XEROPHTHALMIA). Vitamin A deficiency is a very common problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries as a consequence of famine or shortages of vitamin A-rich foods. In the United States it is found among the urban poor, the elderly, alcoholics, and patients with malabsorption. (From Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed, p1179)	Deficiency, Vitamin A,Deficiencies, Vitamin A,Vitamin A Deficiencies
D014985	Xerophthalmia	Dryness of the eye surfaces caused by deficiency of tears or conjunctival secretions. It may be associated with vitamin A deficiency, trauma, or any condition in which the eyelids do not close completely.	Xerophthalmias