Identifying areas with vitamin A deficiency: The validity of a semiquantitative food frequency method

N.L. Sloan, D. Rosen, T. De La Paz, M. Arita, C. Temalilwa and N.W. Solomons

American Journal of Public Health, 1997, vol. 87, issue 2, 186-191

Abstract: Objectives. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency has traditionally been assessed through xerophthalmia or biochemical surveys. The cost and complexity of implementing these methods limits the ability of nonresearch organizations to identify vitamin A deficiency. This study examined the validity of a simple, inexpensive food frequency method to identify areas with a high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. Methods. The validity of the method was tested in 15 communities, 5 each from the Philippines, Guatemala, and Tanzania. Serum retinol concentrations of less than 20 μg/dL defined vitamin A deficiency. Results. Weighted measures of vitamin A intake six or fewer times per week and unweighted measures of consumption of animal sources of vitamin A four or fewer times per week correctly classified seven of eight communities as having a high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (i.e., 15% or more of preschool-aged children in the community had the deficiency) (sensitivity = 87.5%) and four of seven communities as having a low prevalence (specificity = 57.1%). Conclusions. This method correctly classified the vitamin A deficiency status of 73.3% of the communities but demonstrated a high false-positive rate (42.9%).

Date: 1997
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1997:87:2:186-191_5

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().