Assessment of Dietary Consumption of Vitamin A by 1-6year old Children in-Darab-Fars province, A Cross Sectional Study and its relationship with some socio-economic factors and anthropometric indices

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 250 million children under the age of five suffer from vitamin A deficiency and 2.8 to 3 million children under the age of 5 suffer from clinical symptoms of vitamin A deficiency. Since the malnutrition of children is related to their diet, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of vitamin A in children aged 1-6 years in Darab city and its relationship with some socioeconomic factors and anthropometric indices using a specific vitamin A questionnaire.
In this cross-sectional study, which was part of a project to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in children under 6 years old in Fars province Fars province, 510 one to six years old children were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling in Darab. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics were evaluated through questionnaires and interviews. Children height and weight were calculated based on Z score. To evaluate the status of receiving vitamin A, the Helen Clare International Center for Dietary Frequency Questionnaire was used. Chi-square test and logistic regression were adjusted for age and sex were used.
father's occupation [OR=1.1; CI %95 [0.980-1.46], P=0.05] differed significantly in two groups [no efficient or efficient vitamin A].Contact between Property and income with vitamin A deficiency means no statistic different. [p>0.05]. Mild degrees of malnutrition in children is more common and there is significant difference between under weighting and stunting and wasting parameters with vitamin A deficiency in animal source [p Vitamin A deficiency is not a matter of health issue in Darab. It rather correlates with deficiency in animal vitamin A intake that might be proxy of poor socioeconomic status.