TY - JOUR
T1 - Vitamin A supplementation of young infants
AU - Humphrey, Jean H.
AU - Rice, Amy L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper was prepared under support from Cooperative Agreement No DAN-0045-A-5094 between the Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, and the Bureau of Research and Development, Office of Nutrition, US Agency for International Development, Washington DC, USA.
PY - 2000/7/29
Y1 - 2000/7/29
N2 - A meta-analysis of several large trials established that vitamin A supplementation of 6-month-old to 5-year-old children living in areas where vitamin A is deficient can reduce their risk of dying by an average of 23%. However, published studies are less conclusive about the necessity, safety, or the benefits of such supplementation. In this article, the authors argue that infant vitamin A supplementation should be increased rather than abandoned. According to studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, and Indonesia, 25% to over 90% of the 6-month-old infants studied had inadequate liver stores. These breast-fed infants of undernourished mothers will need additional vitamin A to attain normal physiological stores at 6 months of age. In terms of safety, it is noted that the only common acute side effect of the intervention is bulging of the fontanelle, and there are no long-term developmental consequences. Moreover, an Indonesian study highlighted that the intervention reduces infant mortality by 64% when vitamin A supplements are given on the first day of life and during the first 4 months of life. Furthermore, the minimum requirement of vitamin A given to infants is 237 mcmol.
AB - A meta-analysis of several large trials established that vitamin A supplementation of 6-month-old to 5-year-old children living in areas where vitamin A is deficient can reduce their risk of dying by an average of 23%. However, published studies are less conclusive about the necessity, safety, or the benefits of such supplementation. In this article, the authors argue that infant vitamin A supplementation should be increased rather than abandoned. According to studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, and Indonesia, 25% to over 90% of the 6-month-old infants studied had inadequate liver stores. These breast-fed infants of undernourished mothers will need additional vitamin A to attain normal physiological stores at 6 months of age. In terms of safety, it is noted that the only common acute side effect of the intervention is bulging of the fontanelle, and there are no long-term developmental consequences. Moreover, an Indonesian study highlighted that the intervention reduces infant mortality by 64% when vitamin A supplements are given on the first day of life and during the first 4 months of life. Furthermore, the minimum requirement of vitamin A given to infants is 237 mcmol.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02541-1
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02541-1
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 10972388
AN - SCOPUS:0343061048
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 356
SP - 422
EP - 424
JO - Lancet
JF - Lancet
IS - 9227
ER -