TABLE 2.
Primary and secondary measures of status by treatment group in Zambian children1
| VA− | Orange | VA+ | P value2 | |
| Total body reserves of retinol,3 μmol | ||||
| Baseline4 | 686 (567, 805)5 [44] | 685 (590, 779) [44] | 723 (630, 816) [45] | 0.35 |
| Endline4 | 665 (560, 769)b [44] | 806 (664, 947)a [44] | 811 (679, 944)a [45] | 0.0040 |
| Change4 | 13 (−19, 44)b [44] | 84 (21, 146)a [44] | 98 (24, 171)a [45] | 0.0034 |
| Liver retinol concentration,3 μmol/g | ||||
| Baseline4 | 1.02 (0.83, 1.22) [44] | 1.04 (0.94, 1.15) [44] | 1.11 (0.97, 1.25) [45] | 0.29 |
| Endline4 | 0.96 (0.83, 1.10)b [44] | 1.09 (0.90, 1.28)a [44] | 1.17 (0.98, 1.35)a [45] | 0.0042 |
| Change4 | −0.04 (−0.10, 0.02)b [44] | 0.06 (−0.07, 0.19)a [44] | 0.11 (0.00, 0.22)a [45] | 0.0055 |
| Serum retinol concentration,6 μmol/L | ||||
| Baseline | 0.99 ± 0.29 [42]7 | 0.96 ± 0.27 [43] | 0.97 ± 0.25 [43] | 0.83 |
| Endline4 | 0.97 (0.86, 1.09) [43] | 0.94 (0.83, 1.06) [43] | 0.97 (0.90, 1.05) [43] | 0.39 |
| Change | 0.042 ± 0.26 [41] | 0.065 ± 0.25 [43] | −0.030 ± 0.21 [43] | 0.16 |
| Prevalence of low serum retinol (% <0.7 μmol/L)6 | ||||
| Baseline | 16.7 [42] | 16.3 [43] | 18.6 [43] | 0.97 |
| Endline | 7.0 [43] | 4.7 [43] | 14.0 [43] | 0.33 |
| Prevalence of elevated C-reactive protein (% >10 mg/L)6 | ||||
| Baseline | 19.4 [36] | 17.1 [41] | 17.5 [40] | 1.00 |
| Endline | 9.8 [41] | 4.7 [43] | 8.1 [37] | 0.71 |
| Prevalence of elevated α-1-acid glycoprotein (% >1.2 g/L)6 | ||||
| Baseline | 95.0 [40] | 88.4 [43] | 97.7 [43] | 0.94 |
| Endline | 82.9 [41] | 68.3 [41] | 76.2 [42] | 0.75 |
| Prevalence of low serum ferritin (% <12 μg/L)6 | ||||
| Baseline | 17.5 [40] | 14.0 [43] | 9.3 [43] | 0.63 |
| Serum zinc,8 μg/L | ||||
| Endline4 | 915 (811, 1018) [40] | 930 (843, 1017) [38] | 916 (849, 983) [41] | 0.82 |
| Hemoglobin,6 g/L | ||||
| Endline4 | 117 (113, 121) [44] | 117 (113, 120) [44] | 120 (117, 123) [45] | 0.88 |
| Anthropometric changes6 | ||||
| Weight change, kg | 1.1 ± 0.7 [44] | 1.2 ± 0.6 [44] | 0.9 ± 0.6 [45] | 0.075 |
| Height change,4 cm | 3.1 (2.9, 3.2) [44] | 3.1 (2.7, 3.4) [44] | 3.0 (2.8, 3.2) [45] | 0.62 |
The number of participants analyzed is in brackets. Treatment groups with uncommon superscript lowercase letters are statistically different; a > b. The VA− group received white maize with placebo oil, the orange group received orange maize with placebo oil, and the VA+ group received white maize with VA in oil (400 μg retinol activity equivalents/d in 214 μL). VA, vitamin A.
P values were determined by testing the null hypothesis that each variable is equal among treatment groups by using ANOVA or χ2 test.
Baseline is calculated from blood draws 1 and 2, endline is calculated from blood draws 3 and 4, and change is the difference between endline and baseline.
Indicates nonnormally distributed residuals; P value reflects nonparametric analysis.
Median; 95% CI in parentheses (all such values).
Baseline measurements were taken during blood draw 1, endline measurements were taken during blood draw 3, and change is the difference between endline and baseline.
Mean ± SD (all such values).
Measurement taken at blood draw 4.