Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia
A cross-sectional study was carried out on 241 primary schoolchildren in Pahang, Malaysia to update their vitamin A status and to investigate the association of poor vitamin A status with their health and socioeconomic factors. All children were screened for intestinal parasitic infections. Blood sa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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2010
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/3351/1/Giardiasis_and_Poor_Vitamin_A_Status_among_Aboriginal_School_Children_in_Rural_Malaysia.pdf |
| _version_ | 1825718790827016192 |
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| author | Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. Surin, J. Sallam, A.A. Abdullah, A.W. Mahdy, M.A.K. |
| author_facet | Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. Surin, J. Sallam, A.A. Abdullah, A.W. Mahdy, M.A.K. |
| author_sort | Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. |
| collection | UM |
| description | A cross-sectional study was carried out on 241 primary schoolchildren in Pahang, Malaysia to update their vitamin A status and to investigate the association of poor vitamin A status with their health and socioeconomic factors. All children were screened for intestinal parasitic infections. Blood samples were collected and vitamin A status was assessed. Socioeconomic data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaires. The results showed that 66 (27.4) children had low serum retinol levels (< 0.70 μmol/L). Giardiasis and severe ascariasis were significantly associated with low serum retinol levels (P = 0.004 and P = 0.018, respectively). Logistic regression confirmed the significant association of giardiasis with low serum retinol (odds ratio = 2.7, 95 confidence interval = 1.3�5.5). In conclusion, vitamin A deficiency is still a public health problem in rural Malaysia. Vitamin A supplementation and treatment of intestinal parasitic infections should be distributed periodically to these children to improve their health and nutritional status. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:09:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | um.eprints-3351 |
| institution | Universiti Malaya |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:09:44Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | um.eprints-33512017-10-03T05:57:38Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/3351/ Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. Surin, J. Sallam, A.A. Abdullah, A.W. Mahdy, M.A.K. R Medicine A cross-sectional study was carried out on 241 primary schoolchildren in Pahang, Malaysia to update their vitamin A status and to investigate the association of poor vitamin A status with their health and socioeconomic factors. All children were screened for intestinal parasitic infections. Blood samples were collected and vitamin A status was assessed. Socioeconomic data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaires. The results showed that 66 (27.4) children had low serum retinol levels (< 0.70 μmol/L). Giardiasis and severe ascariasis were significantly associated with low serum retinol levels (P = 0.004 and P = 0.018, respectively). Logistic regression confirmed the significant association of giardiasis with low serum retinol (odds ratio = 2.7, 95 confidence interval = 1.3�5.5). In conclusion, vitamin A deficiency is still a public health problem in rural Malaysia. Vitamin A supplementation and treatment of intestinal parasitic infections should be distributed periodically to these children to improve their health and nutritional status. 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.um.edu.my/3351/1/Giardiasis_and_Poor_Vitamin_A_Status_among_Aboriginal_School_Children_in_Rural_Malaysia.pdf Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. and Surin, J. and Sallam, A.A. and Abdullah, A.W. and Mahdy, M.A.K. (2010) Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 83 (3). pp. 523-527. ISSN 0002-9637, |
| spellingShingle | R Medicine Al-Mekhlafi, H.M. Surin, J. Sallam, A.A. Abdullah, A.W. Mahdy, M.A.K. Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title | Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title_full | Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title_short | Giardiasis and poor vitamin A status among aboriginal school children in rural Malaysia |
| title_sort | giardiasis and poor vitamin a status among aboriginal school children in rural malaysia |
| topic | R Medicine |
| url | http://eprints.um.edu.my/3351/1/Giardiasis_and_Poor_Vitamin_A_Status_among_Aboriginal_School_Children_in_Rural_Malaysia.pdf |
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