IMPACT OF VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATION ON CHILDHOOD MORTALITY. A Randomised Controlled Community Trial

Alfred Sommer, Edi Djunaedi, A. A. Loeden, Ignatius Tarwotjo, Keith P. West, Robert Tilden, Lisa Mele, Aceh Study Group The Aceh Study Group

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

476 Scopus citations

Abstract

450 villages in northern Sumatra were randomly assigned to either participate in a vitamin A supplementation scheme (n=229) or serve for 1 year as a control (n=221). 25 939 preschool children were examined at baseline and again 11 to 13 months later. Capsules containing 200 000 IU vitamin A were distributed to preschool children aged over 1 year by local volunteers 1 to 3 months after baseline enumeration and again 6 months later. Among children aged 12-71 months at baseline, mortality in control villages (75/10 231, 7·3 per 1000) was 49% greater than in those where supplements were given (53/10 919,4·9 per 1000) (p<0·05). The impact of vitamin A supplementation seemed to be greater in boys than in girls. These results support earlier observations linking mild vitamin A deficiency to increased mortality and suggest that supplements given to vitamin A deficient populations may decrease mortality by as much as 34%.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1169-1173
Number of pages5
JournalThe Lancet
Volume327
Issue number8491
DOIs
StatePublished - May 24 1986

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'IMPACT OF VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATION ON CHILDHOOD MORTALITY. A Randomised Controlled Community Trial'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this