Vitamin A deficiency and Ocular manifestation among rural children aged 6-15 in Tajikistan

Abstract

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11220533 Vitamin A deficiency is major concern especially for the children living in developing countries. According to UNICEF, around one-third of children do not receive adequate Vitamin A supplementation. The present study focuses on Vitamin A deficiency and Ocular manifestation among rural children aged 6-15 in Tajikistan. Anemia is a major public health concern among women of reproductive age (WRA) and is associated with high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. This community-based cross-sectional study was done vitamin A deficiency survey of children aged 6-15 in Tajikistan (rural areas). The study included a sample of children of mixed socio-economic status who reside in municipalities of high social vulnerability located in Tajikistan. The sample size studied in this survey was 276 children of aged 6-15 years, prevalence of vitamin A deficiency at 95% confidence level. In the current research, 169 (61.23) children had vitamin A deficiency, with anemia in 154 (55.79%) of them, iodine deficiency in 193 (9.92%), conjunctival xerosis in ocular manifestations, 0.36% of Bitot's spots, corneal xerosis in 1.08%, and keratomalacia missing