Table 3.
Vitamin A and iron status indicators and prevalence of deficiencies among children aged 6–59 months; Kalalé district, northern Benin, January–March 2014
| n | Mean or prevalence | sem or sep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hb (mg/dl) | 681 | 9·49 | 0·06 |
| Hb<7 mg/dl (%) | 681 | 5·87 | 0·90 |
| Fe status | |||
| Anaemia* (%) | 681 | 82·38 | 1·46 |
| SF (µg/l) | 546 | 52·73 | 2·12 |
| SF<30 µg/l (%) | 546 | 39·01 | 2·09 |
| BIS (mg/kg) | 546 | 2·86 | 0·17 |
| BIS<0 mg/kg (%) | 546 | 22·89 | 1·80 |
| sTfR (mg/l) | 546 | 11·22 | 0·22 |
| sTfR>8·3 mg/l (%) | 546 | 67·40 | 2·01 |
| ID† (%) | 546 | 23·63 | 1·82 |
| IDA‡ (%) | 542 | 21·22 | 1·76 |
| Vitamin A status | |||
| Serum retinol (µg/dl) | 626 | 21·87 | 0·33 |
| VAD§ (%) | 626 | 33·55 | 1·88 |
| Inflammation║ | |||
| CRP (mg/l) | 543 | 4·30 | 0·35 |
| AGP (g/l) | 546 | 1·07 | 0·02 |
| Elevated CRP only (%) | 543 | 1·65 | 0·54 |
| Elevated AGP only (%) | 546 | 29·83 | 1·96 |
| Elevated CRP and AGP (%) | 543 | 21·18 | 1·75 |
sem, standard error of the mean; sep, standard of error of the prevalence; SF, serum ferritin; BIS, body Fe stores; sTfR, soluble transferrin receptor; ID, Fe deficiency; IDA, Fe-deficiency anaemia; VAD, vitamin A deficiency; CRP, C-reactive protein; AGP, α1-acid glycoprotein.
Anaemia defined as Hb<11 mg/dl.
ID defined as SF<12 mg/l (with AGP and CRP normal), <15 mg/l (with raised CRP), <15 mg/l (with raised AGP), <22 mg/l (with raised AGP and CRP) and using corresponding correction factors for SF concentration.
IDA defined as ID deficiency and Hb<11 mg/dl.
VAD defined as serum retinol <20 µg/dl (with serum retinol concentrations corrected where infection existed).
Elevated CRP (CRP>5 mg/l) and elevated AGP (AGP>1 g/l).