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Low retinol levels virtually undetected in coastal Guatemala: Findings from a convenience sample of women and schoolchildren
Author(s) -
SotoMéndez María José,
Campos Raquel,
Martínez Ana Carolina,
Detlefsen Michelle,
Solomons Noel W
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.620.4
Subject(s) - retinol , vitamin , zoology , sugar , fortification , vitamin a deficiency , medicine , chemistry , biology , endocrinology , food science
Background Guatemala was the first nation ever to mandate fortification of granulated table sugar with vitamin A. Norms specify a concentration of from 10 to 20 mg of retinol as retinyl palmitate per kg of sugar. The program has been in continuous operation since 1987. Objective To assess vitamin A status with circulating retinol concentration in a convenience sample of women and children from coastal plain of Guatemala. Methods Plasma samples were collected from 157 adult women and 134 schoolchildren from among 12 rural communities in the sugarcane‐growing Pacific lowlands of Guatemala. Retinol concentration was determined by high precision liquid chomatography at INCAP, and values were expressed in μg/dL. Results The global median retinol concentration was 52 μg/dL. The mean retinol concentration of 63±23 μg/dL for women was significantly higher than the 46±14 μg/dL in children (p<0.001). The overall distribution of retinol concentration values was: <20 μg/dL, 0%; 20–29 μg/dL, 3%; 30–49 μg/dL, 44%; 50–69 μg/dL, 37%; 70–89 μg/dL, 11%; >;90 μg/dL, 5%. Conclusion Retinol concentration in the deficient (<20 μg/dL) and low (20–29 μg/dL) ranges were virtually undetected in coastal Guatemala, related, in part, we propose to the national sugar fortification program. Funded by Cabcorp, Guatemala and the Hildegard Grunow Foundation, Munich