VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY

Understanding the Importance of Vitamin A

An estimated 250 million children worldwide are currently suffering from Vitamin A deficiency (WHO, 2020). Vitamin A deficiency, also known as VAD, is one of the leading causes of preventable childhood mortality, also playing roles in causing reproductive issues, reduced immune function, vision loss, and in severe cases, xerophthalmia, the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness (UNICEF, 2020). While VAD has essentially been eradicated in many places around the globe, parts of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are still facing a Vitamin A crisis. It disproportionately harms some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women and children. These groups typically lack access to varied diets, due to a variety of socioeconomic and cultural factors.

Figure 1. Colour-coded map depicting areas of no significant prevalence of VAD to areas of high prevalence of VAD.

Vitamin A refers to a group of fat-soluble retinoids, and as a result, it requires fat to be properly absorbed by the body. Vitamin A cannot be synthesized by the body, so it is taken up in two forms: preformed Vitamin A, as found in meat and fish, or provitamin A carotenoids, most commonly in the form of beta-carotene (National Institutes of Health, 2020). Beta-carotene rich foods include green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, and orange vegetables, such as sweet potatoes (National Institutes of Health, 2020). Where preformed Vitamin A can be toxic to the body in high enough concentrations, beta-carotene and other carotenoids do not carry that same risk.

The low fat diets of the affected South Asian and Sub Saharan African areas also play a role in reduced Vitamin A uptake. For example, up to 70% of a South Asian diet consists solely of rice, a grain with very low lipid content (Bishwajit et al., 2013). Frankly, rice is cheap, making it much more accessible for poorer and rural regions. Many of these areas also lack fortified foods, making it more difficult for the population to obtain the necessary nutrients to maintain health (Vitamin Angels, 2020). Not coincidentally, these demographics are hit hard by Vitamin A deficiency.

VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY

Vitamin A is typically taken up in the diet from specific plant and animal sources. Without these sources, deficiency compromises the immune system, stunts growth, and blinds the eyes, leaving patients vulnerable.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is one of the leading causes of preventable childhood mortality. Vitamin A is acquired from specific plant and animal sources in our diet. Without these sources, the resulting deficiency can lead to destruction of the immune system, stunted growth, and blindness, leaving patients vulnerable to infection and mortality.

VAD disproportionately harms some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women and children who lack access to varied diets due to socioeconomic and cultural factors. It is widespread in regions of Africa and South Asia where diets may contain low amounts of Vitamin A. Furthermore, since vitamin A is fat soluble, deficiency can also be exacerbated by a lack of dietary fat, which is common in many of the same regions.

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Current solutions exist which have helped significantly, such as Vitamin A supplementation through annual shots and fortification of food. However, these solutions can leave communities reliant on charity or government aid infrastructure to provide them with ongoing, recurring relief. As a result, these solutions are unsustainable, and vulnerable in case of failure of infrastructure or continued funding. They also fail to address lipid deficiency.

Figure 2.