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Vitamin A levels are comparable between children with newly diagnosed coeliac disease and non‐coeliac controls
Author(s) -
Weintraub Yael,
BenTov Amir,
Dotan Gad,
YerushalmyFeler Anat,
Weiner Dror,
Levy Dina,
Lubetzky Ronit,
Cohen Shlomi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14873
Subject(s) - medicine , coeliac disease , subclinical infection , vitamin , gastroenterology , prospective cohort study , cohort , vitamin d deficiency , vitamin a deficiency , malnutrition , vitamin d and neurology , pediatrics , disease , retinol
Aim Nutritional deficiencies associated with coeliac disease include iron, folic acid and fat‐soluble vitamins. This study compared the prevalence and degree of vitamin A deficiency among newly diagnosed coeliac disease patients to controls in a developed country. Methods This prospective cohort study included all children evaluated by gastroscopy at Dana‐Dwek Children's Hospital, Israel, between September 2014 and February 2017. Vitamin A, haemoglobin, C‐reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, tissue transglutaminase, immunoglobulin A and vitamin D levels were measured. Results Of the 113 children (69% females), 47 were diagnosed with coeliac disease whereas the others were the controls (mean age of 8.2 ± 3.8 years and 12.4 ± 3.5 years, respectively). There was no group difference in vitamin A, vitamin D or CRP levels. Among coeliac children, two had true vitamin A deficiency compared with three controls, while 18 coeliac children had subclinical vitamin A deficiency compared with 25 controls (p > 0.05). Conclusion Paediatric coeliac disease was not associated with increased prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. Children evaluated for gastrointestinal complaints in a developed country were found to have an unexpectedly high prevalence of subclinical vitamin A deficiency. Further prevalence and causality assessments of vitamin A deficiency in developed countries are needed.