Dietary Vitamin A Requirement in Chinese Children and the New Technology of Dietary Assessment

Estimating Dietary Vitamin A Requirement in Chinese Children by Stable-isotope Dilution Technique

Vitamin A deficiency remains a major public health problem in developing country worldwide. Young Children are considered to be at greatest risk of deficiency. However, there is little information on the vitamin A requirement of Chinese children. In the present study, about 400 children aged between 4 and 9 years old in a kindergarten and an elementary school of Shiyan City were screened before admission by questionnaire and anthropometric measurement. The vitamin A status of children was assessed by serum vitamin A level, relative dosage reaction and stable-isotope dilution technique. At the same time, their dietary vitamin A intakes were estimated by weighted-food dietary survey. The dietary vitamin A requirement in young children was determined on the basis of dietary vitamin A intakes in Children with adequate vitamin A level.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Vitamin A Deficiency

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 403

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Hubei
    • Shiyan, Hubei, China, 442500
      • Shiyan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 4 years to 9 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study was carried out in a kindergarten and an elementary school in Shiyan city, Hubei province of China. Initially, 201 kindergarten children (4-6 years old) and 202 grade children (7-9 years old) were subjected to a questionnaire survey on personal information, medical history and dietary habits including dietary supplements.ongoing or previous illnesses, having taken nutritional supplements within 3 months, positive results in the fat absorption test or parasite test, increased level of CRP (> 8 mg/L), or lower serum level of retinol (<1.40 umol/L), and higher ratio in relative dosage reaction test(>20%) .After the screening, 123 children were selected and completed the study, but 60 subjects were randomly selected for the DRD test to evaluate liver vitamin A storage.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• well-nourished children with normal serum retinol(>=1.40umol/L)

Exclusion Criteria:

• ongoing or previous illnesses,
• having taken nutritional supplements within 3 months,
• positive results in the fat absorption test or parasite test,
• increased level of CRP (> 8 mg/L), or
• lower serum level of retinol (< 1.40 umol/L)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
4-6 years old group
7-9 years old group

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
• Collaborators: Tufts Medical Center; ShiYan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Xiufa Sun, BS, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 19, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): March 21, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): March 21, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2012
• Last Verified: March 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Vitamin A; Dietary requirement; Dietary records; Deuterated retinol dilution technique; Chinese children; Dietary intake of vitamin A; Vitamin A liver reserves
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Eye Diseases; Nutrition Disorders; Avitaminosis; Deficiency Diseases; Malnutrition; Vision Disorders; Night Blindness; Vitamin A Deficiency
• Other Study ID Numbers: No.2008BAI58B03