Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of Cambodian schoolchildren aged 6–16 years (n 1933), FORISCA-UltraRice®+NutriRice® study, November 2012–June 2013
| n | All | Placebo | URO | URN | NR | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Girls | 1933 | 50·3 | 50·7 | 50·1 | 50·7 | 49·8 | NS |
| Age (years), mean | 9·7 | 9·6 | 9·6 | 9·7 | 9·8 | NS | |
| sd | 2·2 | 2·3 | 2·2 | 2·2 | 2·4 | ||
| % Stunted (HAZ<−2) | 1927 | 42·6 | 42·9 | 39·3 | 45·0 | 45·1 | NS |
| % Thin (BAZ<−2) | 25·8 | 24·9 | 26·7 | 29·8 | 21·9 | 0·040 | |
| % Infected by helminths | 1442 | 20·3 | 23·0 | 24·9 | 19·8 | 12·9 | 0·000 |
| % Lightly infected by hookworms | 17·8 | 20·0 | 22·2 | 17·4 | 11·1 | 0·001 | |
| % With inflammation (CRP>5 mg/l or AGP>1 g/l) | 1882 | 37·8 | 43·2 | 42·8 | 32·8 | 32·7 | 0·000 |
| Hb (g/dl), mean | 1903 | 12·4 | 12·4 | 12·4 | 12·4 | 12·4 | NS |
| sd | 1·0 | 1·0 | 1·0 | 0·9 | 1·1 | ||
| % Anaemic* | 1903 | 17·1 | 18·4 | 15·4 | 16·9 | 17·6 | NS |
| FER† (mg/dl), mean | 1882 | 74·8 | 77·5 | 79·8 | 70·1 | 71·9 | 0·000 |
| sd | 37·3 | 38·0 | 36·6 | 35·2 | 37·3 | ||
| % With low FER (FER corrected for inflammation <15 μg/l) | 1·7 | 0·4 | 0·6 | 3·7 | 1·9 | 0·001 | |
| TfR (mg/l), mean | 8·9 | 9·0 | 9·1 | 8·5 | 8·9 | 0·001 | |
| sd | 2·7 | 2·6 | 2·6 | 2·5 | 3·1 | ||
| % With high TfR (TfR>8·3 mg/l) | 47·8 | 43·7 | 43·5 | 52·4 | 51·4 | 0··003 | |
| % With Fe-deficiency anaemia (anaemia with high TfR and/or low FER) | 7·7 | 6·5 | 5·6 | 9·5 | 9·0 | 0·096 | |
| Total body Fe (mg/kg), mean | 5·9 | 6·0 | 6·0 | 5·8 | 5·8 | 0·061 | |
| sd | 2·3 | 2·0 | 2·2 | 2·4 | 2·5 | ||
| % With low Fe status (total body Fe<4 mg/kg) | 15·1 | 12·9 | 13·5 | 15·9 | 18·1 | NS | |
| Zinc (µmol/l), mean | 1546 | 7·6 | 7·2 | 7·8 | 7·5 | 7·8 | 0·000 |
| sd | 1·7 | 1·6 | 1·7 | 1·7 | 1·7 | ||
| % Zn deficient‡ | 93·2 | 98·1 | 91·2 | 93·7 | 91·9 | 0·000 | |
| % Severely Zn deficient§ | 53·7 | 51·1 | 48·9 | 55·5 | 51·1 | 0·000 | |
| UIC (µg/l) | 1824 | 32·8 | 22·4 | 25·3 | 49·0 | 33·6 | 0·000 |
| % With UIC<50 µg/l | 17·2 | 6·4 | 9·0 | 35·0 | 17·4 | 0·000 | |
| % With UIC >200 µg/l | 0·3 | 0·0 | 0·0 | 1·3 | 0·0 | 0·001 | |
| RBP (mmol/l), mean | 1882 | 1·6 | 1·6 | 1·7 | 1·5 | 1·5 | 0·000 |
| sd | 0·4 | 0·4 | 0·4 | 0·4 | 0·4 | ||
| % Vitamin A deficient (RBP<0·7 µmol/l) | 0·9 | 0·6 | 0·2 | 1·2 | 1·5 | NS | |
| % With marginal vitamin A status (RBP<1·05 µmol/l) | 9·6 | 7·3 | 3·6 | 14·2 | 12·9 | 0·000 |
FORISCA, Fortified Rice for School children in Cambodia; HAZ, height-for-age Z-score; BAZ, BMI-for-age Z-score; CRP, C-reactive protein; AGP, α1-acid glycoprotein; FER, ferritin; TfR, soluble transferrin receptor; UIC, urinary iodine concentration; RBP, retinol-binding protein.
Hb<115 g/l for participants aged <12 years; 120 g/l for teenagers aged 12–15 years and girls aged ≥15 years; 130 g/l for boys aged ≥15 years.
FER corrected for inflammation <15 mg/l.
Serum Zn<0·65 mg/l for participants aged <10 years; for participants aged ≥10 years, cut-off is 0·66 mg/l for girls and 0·70 mg/l for boys.
Serum Zn<0·5 mg/l.