Serum alpha-tocopherol levels of Mexican Americans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans aged 4-74 y

Article Abstract:

Vitamin E levels in the body may play a part in cancer risk, so interest in this vitamin has recently increased. Normal vitamin E levels have not yet been established for children, adolescents and adults and no studies of hispanics living in the United States have been published. This study addressed both issues by measuring vitamin E in a large group of hispanics, aged 4 to 74 years. Three major groups of hispanics, namely Mexican Americans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans, were studied. The number of participants in each subgroup, divided by age and ethnicity, ranged from 12 to 1912. One particular form of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, was measured in blood serum. The alpha-tocopherol to lipid (fat) ratio was also evaluated because blood lipids influence tocopherol; this ratio is an independent indicator of vitamin E status. The results showed that hispanics appear to have vitamin E levels that are similar to other ethnic groups as previously reported in the literature. Among the three hispanic groups, Puerto Ricans had lower alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol to lipid ratios than Cubans and Mexican Americans (MA) for several age groups. Adolescents had lower alpha-tocopherol than children in the MA and Cuban groups. During the adult years, both measures of vitamin E status rose for all three hispanic groups. The authors could not determine how many subjects had inadequate vitamin E levels because the minimum normal level has not been established. A certain numerical value was used as a cutoff, but this is problematic because some individuals below this level actually have adequate vitamin E status while others above the cutoff are indeed clinically deficient; there can be no strict minimum value that applies to all persons. It is especially difficult to assign a cutoff value for vitamin E in children. In future research, the authors suggest relating trends for cancer risk to vitamin E levels in these ethnic groups.

Research, Vitamin E, Hispanic Americans, Vitamin E deficiency

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Prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency in the Diourbel, Fatick, and Kaolack regions of Senegal: a controlled study

Article Abstract:

In Southeast Asia, vitamin A deficiency and the blindness that often results appear to be common in children. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency and protein-calorie malnutrition was determined in 206 preschool children in the rural area of the groundnut belt of Senegal. Impression cytology with transfer (ICT) was used to determine abnormal eye cell morphology (appearance) and to predict retinol (vitamin A) levels. Transthyretin (TTR) and retinol-binding protein (RBP), two liver proteins that transport retinol in the blood, were measured in blood samples and used as indices of vitamin A status and malnutrition. Approximately 90 percent of the children examined had low levels of RBP and TTR, indicating protein-calorie malnutrition. The ICT test was not an accurate indicator of retinol levels. ICT predicted normal levels of retinol in 96.4 percent of those diagnosed as having normal eye cell morphology, but predicted low retinol levels in only in 53.9 percent of the subjects diagnosed as having abnormal eye cell morphology. It is recommended that in geographic regions where vegetables are the main dietary source of vitamin A, that the ICT test should be modified to include carotenoids (the form of vitamin A present in vegetables). In a population of children living south of Senegal, no clinical symptoms of vitamin A deficiency were diagnosed when both retinol and carotenoid levels were measured. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Causes of, Complications and side effects, Demographic aspects, Blindness, Malnutrition in children, Senegal

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Relationship between age and serum vitamin A in children aged 4-11 y

Article Abstract:

A common way to evaluate vitamin A nutrition is to measure the blood serum vitamin A concentration. While serum vitamin A does not reflect storage of the vitamin in the body, this test is generally the only practical way to assess vitamin A nutrition in large numbers of people. Reduced serum levels generally indicate inadequate dietary intake of vitamin A. The normal serum values for children are the same regardless of the child's age, but it was recently suggested that the normal blood level may vary according to age. This study was designed to investigate the normal serum vitamin A levels in children aged 4 to 11 years. The data were obtained from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) and the Hispanic HANES, a study similar to NHANES. It was found that the younger children (aged four to five years) had consistently lower serum vitamin A levels than the older children, aged 9 to 11 years. Because the trend based on age was consistent, it appears that lower blood levels in the younger age group may be due to normal physiologic processes. It is concluded that the standards against which individual serum vitamin A results are compared may need to be changed to reflect differences based on the ages of children. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Children, Surveys, Nutritional aspects, Vitamin A, Vitamin A in human nutrition

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