International journal of epidemiology
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Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem in many countries in the developing world. Reports have noted demographic and socioeconomic risk factors for vitamin A deficiency. 'Deficiency' has usually been defined by clinical signs and symptoms which represent only a small proportion of those children at increased risk for vitamin A preventable morbidity and mortality. ⋯ We found that owning land and that the highest and lowest categories of reported household income were associated with higher serum retinol levels. We also noted clustering of serum retinol levels by village and discovered that children from larger sibships and infants had significantly lower serum retinol levels. Vitamin A supplementation of lactating mothers, particularly of high parity, and/or their infants should be considered.