Significance of Very Low Retinol Levels During Severe Protein-energy Malnutrition

• Published in: Journal of tropical pediatrics (1980) 1996-06, Vol.42 (3), p.158-161
• Main Authors: Goetghebuer, T., Brasseur, D., Dramaix, M., De Mol, P., Donnen, P., Bahwere, P., Duchateau, J., Hennart, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - blood; Child; Child, Preschool; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Developing Countries; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Other nutritional diseases (malnutrition, nutritional and vitamin deficiencies...); Protein-Energy Malnutrition - blood; Protein-Energy Malnutrition - complications; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tropical medicine; Vitamin A - blood; Vitamin A Deficiency - complications; Vitamin A Deficiency - diagnosis
• ISSN: 0142-6338; 1465-3664
• DOI: 10.1093/tropej/42.3.158

In developing countries, severe vitamin A deficiency is associated with increased child mortality. In Kivu, Zaïre, child mortality rate is approximately 50 per 1000 per year and protein calorie malnutrition is endemic. To evaluate vitamin A status in this population, we measured plasma retinol levels in 28 severely malnourished hospitalized children (plasma albumin level below 3 g/dl), and in 153 outpatients (mean plasma albumin level: 3.19±0.7 g/dl) as controls. Sixty per cent of inpatients and 37 per cent of out-patients had retinol levels below 10 μg/dl (P = 0.02) suggesting a high prevalence of severe vitamin A deficiency in this population. We found that plasma retinol levels were correlated with low retinol binding protein plasma levels (r=0.77). We conclude that although vitamin A deficiency probably exists in this malnourished population, low retinol levels could at least partly be related to decreased levels of its carrier protein.