Therefore , vitamin A supplementation alone may reduce the risk of anemia , by improving hemoglobin and ferritin levels in individuals with low serum retinol levels
ABSTRACT Anemia is a worldwide public health problem that can be related to many causes , including vitamin A deficiency .
The aim of this study was to assess and estimate the effect of vitamin A supplementation ( VAS ) on iron status biomarkers and anemia in humans .
Short-term effects of vitamin A and antimalarial treatment on erythropoiesis in severely anemic Zanzibari preschool children.
BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of anemia in coastal East Africa is complex . Impaired erythropoietin production is one possible mechanism . Plasmodium falciparum malaria has been found to blunt erythropoietin production , whereas vitamin A stimulates erythropoietin production in vitro . OBJECTIVE We investigated the 72-h effects of vitamin A and the antimalarial drug sulfadoxine pyramethamine ( SP ) on erythropoietin production in severely anemic ( hemoglobin < or = 70 g/L ) preschool children in Zanzibar , a region of known vitamin A deficiency . We hypothesized that both treatments would stimulate erythropoietin production directly , within 72 h , before a change in hemoglobin would occur . DESIGN One hundred forty-one severely anemic children were identified during the baseline assessment of a morbidity sub study of a community-based micronutrient supplementation trial . All severely anemic children were r and omly assigned to receive either vitamin A ( 100,000 or 200,000 IU depending on age ) or SP at baseline ; 72 h later they received the opposite treatment plus daily hematinic syrup for 90 d. Erythropoietic and parasitic indicators were assessed at baseline and again after 72 h. RESULTS After 72 h , SP reduced the malaria parasite density ( by 5029 parasites/microL ; P < 0.001 ) , CRP concentrations ( by 10.6 mg/L ; P = 0.001 ) , and the proportion of children infected with malaria ( by 32.4 % ; P < 0.001 ) . Vitamin A reduced CRP ( by 9.6 mg/L ; P = 0.011 ) , serum ferritin ( by 18.1 microg/L ; P = 0.042 ) , and erythropoietin ( by 194.7 mIU/mL ; P = 0.011 ) concentrations and increased the reticulocyte production index ( by 0.40 ; P = 0.041 ) . CONCLUSIONS Contrary to our hypothesis , vitamin A significantly decreased erythropoietin concentration . The most important effect of both vitamin A and SP was the rapid reduction of inflammation . Vitamin A also mobilized iron from stores and stimulated the production of new erythrocytes
Therefore , vitamin A supplementation alone may reduce the risk of anemia , by improving hemoglobin and ferritin levels in individuals with low serum retinol levels
ABSTRACT Anemia is a worldwide public health problem that can be related to many causes , including vitamin A deficiency .
The aim of this study was to assess and estimate the effect of vitamin A supplementation ( VAS ) on iron status biomarkers and anemia in humans .