Seasonal variations in plasma retinol and carotenoid levels in rural Gambian women

Bates, Chris; Villard, Laurence; Prentice, A; Paul, Alison; Whitehead, R. G.

doi:10.1016/0035-9203(84)90028-2

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The study was carried out during the dry season and whatever coloured fruits and vegetables had been eaten in the previous week had been bought from the city, which is more than 110 km away from the Makhaza area. The seasonal non-availability of vitamin A and iron-containing foods has been documented in other African studies in Kenya and the Gambia (Bates et al, 1984;Kigutha et al, 1995). In view of recent observations that dark green leafy vegetables may not be as bioavailable as previously thought, (de Pee et al, 1995;1998a), the vitamin A intake in these women must be regarded as precarious.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…It is little comfort and indeed misleading that many of our women had normal serum levels of retinol, since only ten of them had adequate stores of the vitamin as measured by RDR. The retinol levels are thus like a brittle facade that is likely to crack under the stress of breast-feeding and the seasonal inadequacy of vitamin supply in the community (Bates et al, 1984;Kigutha et al, 1995). Indeed, one of the lactating women never took part in the study because she proved to have Bitot's spots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence of grave vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in the semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. A population-based study

et al. 2001

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Objective: To assess the vitamin A and iron status of lactating women. Design: A population-based cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: A semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. Subjects: Two hundred and seven lactating women with babies aged 2 ± 12 months. Methods: Serum retinol (SR) was measured by HPLC, serum ferritin (SF) by ELIZA, haemoglobin (Hb) by HemoCue and C-reactive protein (CRP) by a turbo metric method. A seven-day recall of consumption of vitamin A containing foods was recorded. Main outcome measures: Relative dose response (RDR), SR, SF, Hb and CRP. Results: Dark green leafy vegetables were the main sources of vitamin A; retinol-containing foods and yellow to red fruits and vegetables were rarely consumed. Five women had elevated CRP and these women had lower SR (P`0.001) than the rest. Forty percent of the women had vitamin A de®ciency (SR`20 mgadl), 76% had low liver stores of vitamin A (RDR b 20%) while 15 women had both abnormal SR and abnormal RDR. Forty percent had anaemia (Hb`12 gal) while 12% had iron de®ciency (SF`12 mgadl) and 4% (n 7) had iron de®ciency anaemia. Conclusion: Vitamin A and iron de®ciencies are problems of public health signi®cance among the lactating women in the Makhaza area. Sponsorship: The study was sponsored by Sida through the SidaaZimbabwe co-operation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of grave vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in the semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. A population-based study

et al. 2001

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“…Indeed, the adjusted prevalence of night blindness among pregnant women in some countries of WCAR is greater than the cut-off point of 5 % indicating that vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in a population. In a study in rural Gambia, Bates et al (33) showed that women's plasma retinol levels are significantly lower than those observed in a group of pregnant and lactating women living in the UK. In addition, plasma retinol is significantly higher among pregnant and lactating Gambian women supplemented with 650 mg vitamin A daily (34) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Maternal anaemia in West and Central Africa: time for urgent action

Ayoya

Bendech

Zagré

et al. 2011

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To review the prevalence, severity and determinants of anaemia among women in West and Central Africa (WCA) and raise awareness among policy makers and programme planners in the region. Design: Systematic descriptive review of data in the public domain of the ORC Macro MEASURE Demographic and Health Surveys, national nutrition surveys, oral and technical communications at regional meetings, studies published in scientific journals, and WHO and UNICEF databases. Setting: West and Central Africa region. Subjects: Women of childbearing age. Results: The prevalence of anaemia among pregnant and non-pregnant women is higher than 50 % and 40 %, respectively, in all countries. Within countries, this prevalence varies by living setting (rural v. urban), women's age and education. Across countries, socio-economic and climatic differences have no apparent association with the prevalence of anaemia among women. Several factors contribute either alone or jointly to the high rates of maternal anaemia in this region. These include widespread nutritional deficiencies; high incidence of infectious diseases; low access to and poor quality of health services; low literacy rates; ineffective design, implementation and evaluation of anaemia control programmes; and poverty. Conclusions: Addressing the multiple causes and minimizing the consequences of anaemia on maternal and child health and development in WCA require integrated multifactorial and multisectoral strategies. This also calls for unprecedented, historical and stronger political will and commitment that put adolescent girls and maternal health at the centre of the development agenda. Keywords Women Anaemia Urgent action West and Central AfricaMaternal anaemia continues to be a major barrier to women's health, social development and economic growth, especially in the developing world. The WHO estimates that, globally, anaemia affects 42 % (56?4 million) of pregnant women and 30 % (468?4 million) of non-pregnant women (including adolescent girls). In Africa, 57 % (17?2 million) of pregnant women and 48 % (70 million) of nonpregnant women (including adolescent girls) are anaemic (1) . In Sub-Saharan Africa, and more particularly in the West and Central Africa Region (WCAR),y high rates of anaemia continue unabated in women throughout their reproductive years. In WCAR, according to WHO classification, the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age is of severe public health significance; i.e. at any point in time at least 40 % of women (15-49 years old) are anaemic (1) .These high rates represent significant constraints for achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals such as eradicating hunger and poverty (Goal 1), reducing child mortality (Goal 4) and improving maternal health (Goal 5). The adverse consequences of maternal anaemia include fatigue, decreased work capacity and poor pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and increased risk of maternal death both during delivery and the postpartum period (2,3) . Even tho...

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“…Seasonal patterns in reported fruit and vegetable intake or carotenoid intake occur in markedly different magnitudes by population, even after adjustment for age, body mass index, alcohol, smoking and other recognized covariates (Bates et al, 1984;Ziegler et al, 1987;Rautalahti et al, 1993;Olmedilla et al, 1994;Cooney et al, 1995;Forman et al, 1999). Seasonal effects are relatively strong in countries without extensive food preservation and transportation systems (Bates et al, 1984;Forman et al, 1999), and therefore access to carotenoid-rich foods may be season dependent. Economic diversity would also increase between-person variation (Willett, 1998) and day-to-day variation may be particularly large in developing countries if expensive carotenoid-rich foods are affordable occasionally.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Components of variation in serum carotenoid concentrations: the Polyp Prevention Trial

et al. 2008

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Objectives: The intra-and interindividual variations and season and center effects were estimated from a series of serum carotenoid concentrations in the Polyp Prevention Trial (PPT) participants. Subjects/Methods: Fasting blood was collected annually for 4 years in all 1905 participants, and a subcohort of 901 participants were selected within each (of eight) center(s), by gender and dietary arm of the study, for measurement of five major carotenoid peaks. Using variance of component methods, the variation in serum carotenoid concentrations about the underlying mean was partitioned into explanatory components attributed to various sources. Results: The contributions of the inter-and intraindividual variances to the overall variation in carotenoid concentrations were in the range of 61-70 and 20-35%, respectively, whereas center and center-by-season effects provided 2.6-9.5 and 0.2-1.4%, respectively. The highest percent (35%) of intraindividual variation was exhibited by lycopene, and the highest percent (70% apiece) of interindividual variation was exhibited by lutein/zeaxanthin and b-carotene. Serum lycopene had the highest ratio of intra-to interindividual variation of 0.57, whereas lutein had the lowest ratio of 0.29. We estimate that the ratio of intrato interindividual variance around the mean carotenoid concentration can be reduced greatly by collecting 3-4 compared to 1 blood measurement in large-scale trials like the PPT. Conclusion: In the largest study of components of variation in individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer, the largest contributors to variation in serum carotenoid concentrations were intra-and interindividual effects followed by center and center-by-season effects.

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Seasonal variations in plasma retinol and carotenoid levels in rural Gambian women

Cited by 18 publications

References 4 publications

Evidence of grave vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in the semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. A population-based study

Evidence of grave vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in the semi-arid rural area of Makhaza in Zimbabwe. A population-based study

Maternal anaemia in West and Central Africa: time for urgent action

Components of variation in serum carotenoid concentrations: the Polyp Prevention Trial

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