Effect of Vitamin A supplementation on preventing recurrent acute lower respiratory tract infections in children

Abstract

Background: Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (ALRTI) remains the major cause of increased morbidity and mortality in under-five children. Vitamin A has a protective role against infections in children. Vitamin A supplementation is given to under-five children as part of the National Immunization Programme in India. The aim of this study was to find out the effectiveness of vitamin A supplementation in preventing the recurrent ALRTI (≥3 episodes per year) in under-five children.Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to find out the role of vitamin A supplementation in reducing recurrent ALRTI in under-five children who were enrolled in Anganwadi centers (AWC’s) in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. Two hundred children of 1-5 years of age were selected by random systematic sampling. History was elicited and documents about vitamin A supplementation and previous episodes of ALRTI were verified. The association between recurrence of ALRTI and vitamin A supplementation was analyzed using chi-square test.Results: The mean age of the children in this study is 24±8 months. The median number of episodes of ALRTI per year is 2 (1-3). Among 200 children enrolled in the study, 127 (63.5%) children received vitamin A supplementation and 73 (36.5%) did not receive it. There is a significant decrease in the number of ALRTI episodes (less than 3 episodes per year) in the children who received vitamin A supplementation (p <0.001).Conclusions: Vitamin A supplementation along with the National Immunization Programme had shown reduced ALRTI episodes. Since, the number of ALTRI episodes are directly proportional to mortality due to pneumonia, reduction in number of episodes can decrease the Under-five mortality. Vitamin A supplementation is an important programme in this regard and needs to be scrupulously carried out.

Recurrent respiratory infections and vitamin A levels: a link? It is cross-sectional

“…[10] According to Murthy et al reported that children who received vitamin A supplementation had a significantly lower incidence of recurrent acute lower respiratory tract infections than those who did not receive vitamin A supplementation (P 0.001). [12] A significant association between vitamin A deficiency and RRTI, as well as the severity of disease development observed by this study, can be explained by the fact that micronutrient deficiencies, such as a of vitamins and minerals, are associated with a variety of medical conditions, including an increased risk of developing upper and lower RTIs. [23] Vitamin A deficiency alters the respiratory epithelium and impairs humoral as well as cellular immunity.…”

“…[ 10 ] According to Murthy et al reported that children who received vitamin A supplementation had a significantly lower incidence of recurrent acute lower respiratory tract infections than those who did not receive vitamin A supplementation (P 0.001). [ 12 ]…”

“…[ 11 ] An additional study was conducted on 200 children where 63.5% of them received vitamin A supplementation, while 36.5 did not, and found that the number of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) in children who got vitamin A supplementation was significantly reduced (<3 episodes per year). [ 12 ] As a result, this study was designed to investigate if there was a link between blood vitamin A levels and the occurrence of RRTIs in children, as well as to assess how severe respiratory infection symptoms were in vitamin A deficient children.…”