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 .
Vitamin A supplementation and other predictors of anemia among children from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
The associations of hemoglobin , hematocrit , and packed cell volume with socioeconomic factors , malaria , human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) infection , and nutritional status were examined among 687 children admitted to hospital with pneumonia participating in a double blind , placebo-controlled  trial of vitamin A supplementation . Children were r and omized to receive 2 doses of vitamin A ( 200,000 IU ) or placebo at baseline , and additional doses at 4 and 8 months after discharge from hospital . Hemoglobin levels were measured at enrollment and , on a subset of 161 children , during follow-up . At baseline , hemoglobin concentration was positively associated with the number of possessions in the household , maternal level of education and quality of water supply , and inversely related to malaria infection after controlling for potential confounding variables . Children infected with HIV experienced a significant fall in mean hemoglobin levels over time . The risk of developing severe anemia ( < 7 g/dL ) during follow-up was lower for children who were breastfed for longer than 18 months as compared to those with less than 6 months of breastfeeding ( adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.14 , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = 0.02 , 0.93 ; P = 0.04 ) , and higher for children over two years of age as compared to 6 to 11 months-old infants ( adjusted prevalence ratio = 8.11 , 95 % CI = 1.2 , 55.8 ; P = 0.03 ) . Children with repeated diagnoses of malaria had 4.1 times the risk of developing severe anemia than did children without the diagnosis ( 95 % CI = 1.3 , 13.5 ; P = 0.02 ) . Vitamin A supplements were associated with an overall nonsignificant reduction of 14 % in the risk of developing severe anemia ( adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.86 , 95 % CI = 0.37 , 1.99 ; P = 0.73 ) . We conclude that malaria , HIV infection , low socioeconomic status , and short duration of breastfeeding are strong and independent determinants of adverse hematologic profiles in this population
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 .