3-4-didehydroretinoic-acid and Vitamin-A-Deficiency

To determine the prevalence of subclinical vitamin A deficiency (vitamin A inadequacy) in Indonesian pregnant women as assessed by the modified relative dose response test.. Cross-sectional study of the vitamin A statuses of pregnant (second trimester) women randomly selected from ten different villages.. West Java, Indonesia.. A group of 144 pregnant women recruited from the local health posts.. Modified relative dose response (MRDR) test, serum retinol determination and gynecological examinations.. The mean (s.d.) MRDR ratio was 0.039 +/- 0.031. Of the women tested, the vitamin A status of 17% was provisionally classified as being marginal (subclinically deficient) (MRDR ratio > or = 0.060), of 35% as being uncertain (MRDR ratio between 0.030 and 0.060) and of 48% as being satisfactory (MRDR ratio < or = 0.030).. If the vitamin A statuses of the 'uncertain' group are also deemed to be unsatisfactory, approximately half of the pregnant Indonesian women tested could benefit from an increased intake of vitamin A.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Humans; Indonesia; Nutrition Surveys; Nutritional Status; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Prevalence; Tretinoin; Vitamin A; Vitamin A Deficiency

The modified relative-dose-response (MRDR) assay has been validated in rats as a function of vitamin A status and tested in a group of American children. In this study the MRDR assay was applied to West Javan children who are at risk of being vitamin A deficient. Of 86 children enrolled, 75 were tested. In a time-course study involving 22 children aged 3.7-5.3 y, blood samples were taken at different times after doses of 0.35 mumol 3,4-didehydroretinyl acetate/kg body wt. Generally, the ratio of dehydroretinol to retinol (DR-R ratio) peaked between 4 and 8 h. Thereafter, in a survey of 53 children aged 0.6-4.8 y, single blood samples were drawn 5 h after the dehydroretinyl acetate dose. The DR-R ratio ranged from 0.0028 to 0.169. With a DR-R ratio of 0.03 as the cutoff value, 62% of the children were judged to be of marginal vitamin A status.

Topics: Anthropometry; Child, Preschool; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Humans; Indonesia; Infant; Nutritional Status; Time Factors; Tretinoin; Vitamin A; Vitamin A Deficiency