Vitamin a Information Vitamin a Deficiency (VAD) Is the Leading

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Vitamin A Information Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children. Xerophthalmia, which is abnormal dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea of the eye, is associated with VAD and when left untreated can lead to blindness. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide there are “at least 254 million children under the age of five that are at-risk in terms of their health and survival”. An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 vitamin A deficient children become blind each year. Half of these children die within 12 months of losing their sight. Although this problem is most prevalent in Africa and South East Asia, it is certainly existent throughout the developing nations. According to UNICEF, “Of 82 countries deemed ‘priorities’ for national-level vitamin A supplementation programs, 57 had coverage estimates available for 2014. Half of these 57 countries achieved the recommended coverage of 80 percent.” As a result, half did not receive the 80 percent level, and for those that did, a significant number of children remained untreated. While the problem is most prevalent in Africa and South East Asia, central American countries are also at risk. “About 40% of Mexican children in rural areas had deficient values of plasma vitamin A” (Rosado, 1995). Furthermore, it was noted as far back as 1989 that vitamin A deficient Guatemalan children grow poorly, are more anemic, have more infections and are more likely to die than their peers (Sommer, 1989). The World Health Organization recommends that all children between the ages of six months and six years in developing nations that are at risk receive vitamin A supplementation. By receiving this vitamin supplementation, child mortality and blindness can be significantly reduced. .

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OCULAR MANIFESTATIONS of VITAMIN a DEFICIENCY*T
Br J Ophthalmol: first published as 10.1136/bjo.51.12.854 on 1 December 1967. Downloaded from Brit. J. Ophthal. (1967) 51, 854 OCULAR MANIFESTATIONS OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY*t BY G. VENKATASWAMY Department of Ophthalmology, Madurai Medical College, Madurai, India NUTRITIONAL deficiencies are a frequent cause of serious eye disease in India. Oomen (1961) reported a mortality of nearly 30 per cent. in young children with keratomalacia and an even higher proportion in those with protein malnutrition; about 25 per cent. of the survivors became totally blind, and about 60 per cent. were left with reduced vision in one or both eyes. Deficiency diseases revealed by dietary surveys have included xerophthalmia, Bitot's spots, angular stomatitis, and phrynoderma. Gilroy (1951) observed xerophthalmia in 250 out of 4,191 children from 44 estates in Assam. Sundararajan (1963) found signs of vitamin A deficiency in 35 to 45 per cent. of schoolchildren in Calcutta. Chandra, Venkatachalam, Belavadi, Reddy, and Gopalan (1960) reported that lack of protein and vitamin A was the most frequent cause of nutritional deficiency disorders in India; out of copyright. 14,563 children examined in a 5-year period, 2,245 showed malnutrition, 551 vitamin A deficiency, and 157 keratomalacia. Rao, Swaminathan, Swarup, and Patwardhan (1959) observed two to five cases ofvitamin A deficiency for every case ofkwashiorkor. A world-wide survey ofxerophthalniia carried out in nearly fifty countries (including countries in Asia) by WHO in 1962-1963 revealed that this was often the most important cause of blindness in young children. Scrimshaw (1959), McLaren (1963), and UNICEF (1963) concluded that vitamin A deficiency was one of the http://bjo.bmj.com/ main nutritional problems in tropical and subtropical areas.
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