Seng, Katherine Boon Hwei and Tan, Pei Yee and Lim, Chuan Chun and Loganathan, Radhika and Lim, Yvonne Ai-Lian and Teng, Kim-Tiu and Selvaduray, Kanga Rani and Mohd Johari, Syahirah Nadiah and Ramli, Norlina Mohd (2024) High prevalence of xerophthalmia linked to socio-demographic and nutritional factors among vitamin A-deficient rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. Nutrition Research, 131. pp. 14-26. ISSN 0271-5317, DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2024.07.003.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains a major health issue in developing nations, contributing to preventable childhood blindness. However, there is lack of recent data on xerophthalmia, especially among school-aged children in Malaysia. We hypothesized that xerophthalmia persists among rural schoolchildren in Malaysia and potentially associated with socio-demographic status and malnutrition. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 596 schoolchildren (8-12 years) from ten rural primary schools located in five states across Malaysia. Children meeting the criteria for xerophthalmia assessment included those diagnosed with vitamin A deficiency (VAD) (plasma retinol < 0.70 mu mol/L) and marginal VAD (plasma retinol 0.70 to < 1.05 mu mol/L). The overall prevalence of xerophthalmia was 48.8%, with the most common ocular sign being conjunctival xerosis (38.9%). The occurrence of xerophthalmia was negatively associated with retinol-binding protein 4 (RPB4) ( P = 0.003), alpha-carotene ( P = 0.04), hemoglobin ( P = 0.004), weight ( P = 0.02), body mass index (BMI) ( P = 0.04) and WAZ (weight-for-age z-score) ( P = 0.04) status. Based on multivariate logistic regression analysis, a higher risk of xerophthalmia was observed in boys (Adjusted odd ratio AOR]: 1.7, 95% confidence interval CI]: 1.2-2.5) and Orang Asli (OA, indigenous) schoolchildren (AOR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3-3.0), while schoolchildren with overweight/obesity sta- tus (AOR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.8) were associated with a reduced risk of xerophthalmia. The present study unveils a high prevalence of xerophthalmia among vitamin A-deficient pri- mary schoolchildren in rural areas of Malaysia, especially among the indigenous commu- nity. The identified socio-demographic and nutritional factors associated to xerophthalmia would facilitate the implementation of more targeted interventions in addressing these is- sues. (c) 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | None |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Vitamin A; Carotene; Child; Ocular; Nutritional status |
| Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Medicine |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Oct 2025 07:20 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Oct 2025 07:20 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/46398 |
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