Prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency in School Going Children in Rural Area

Background: Adequate data on occurrence of ocular morbidities associated with vitamin A deficiency amongst school going children was not available. So, our study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among the primary school children in relation to socio-economical status. Methods: The study was designed among school children of 5-15 years of age after taking consent form from principals of different schools in the rural areas of Amravati district in Maharashtra. A predesigned proforma was used to collect the information. Results: Total 600 school children were examined for Vitamin A deficiency, out of which 314 (52.50%) were boys and 286 (47.75%) were girls. Among the school children 106 (13.7%) students were under the age group of 5-10 years and 494 (86.3%) students were 11- 15 years. According to modified Kuppuswamy scale of Socio-economic status 96 (16%) students belongs to class III, 458 (76.33%) students from class IV and 46 (7.66%) students from class V. Prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency was observed in 34 (5.7%) students, among them 6 (17.64%) had conjunctival xerosis and 28 (82.35%) had bitot’s spot. Among 34 Vitamin A deficiency children 22 (64.70%) were girls and 12 (35.29%) were boys. Conclusion: The presence of ocular morbidity in relation to vitamin A deficiency was observed in students with low socio-economic classes. Prevention, early intervention and treatment of ocular diseases by regular screening of students and nutritional education in schools would definitely decrease the risk of ocular abnormalities. Keywords: HVitamin A deficiency, xerophthalmia.