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. 1973 Apr 7;108(7):848–852.

Carotenemia in mentally retarded children I. Incidence and etiology

H Patel, H G Dunn, B Tischler, A Karaa McBurney
PMCID: PMC1941304  PMID: 4707231

Abstract

The incidence and etiology of carotenemia in mentally retarded children were examined. Fasting serum carotenoid and vitamin A levels were measured in 77 profoundly mentally retarded children aged 3 to 19 years who were receiving a standard diet containing 2000 IU of carotene (expressed in terms of vitamin A activity) and supplemented by 2000 IU of vitamin A daily. Seventeen of the 77 patients had serum carotenoid levels of more than 300 μg./ml. The particulate size of food had a significant inverse relationship to serum carotenoid levels and was an important factor in determining carotenemia. The serum vitamin A level was also higher in children on homogenized diet than in those on pureed feeds, while the lowest level was noted among patients on a chopped diet. Besides particulate size of food, other factors may also be operative in determining carotenemia.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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