Vitamin A supplementation, morbidity, and serum acute-phase proteins in young Ghanaian children

Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Aug;62(2):434-8. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/62.2.434.

Abstract

The association of vitamin A supplementation with concentrations of positive acute-phase proteins in the serum was investigated in the Child Health Study of the Ghana Vitamin A Supplementation Trials, a randomized, controlled trial of the effect of vitamin A on morbidity in children aged < 5 y. Mean serum concentrations of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, serum amyloid A, and C-reactive protein did not differ overall between the vitamin A-supplemented and placebo-treated groups. Treatment groups were then subdivided according to what symptoms children had experienced in the week before blood sampling. Acute-phase-protein responses to fever and cough were not affected by vitamin A supplementation. There was a tendency for vitamin A-supplemented children, but not placebo children, to have elevated acute-phase proteins in association with reported vomiting or severe diarrhea. The failure of unsupplemented children to mount an acute-phase response may have contributed to their increased morbidity from gastrointestinal symptoms.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute-Phase Proteins / analysis*
  • C-Reactive Protein / analysis
  • Child, Preschool
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Food, Fortified
  • Ghana
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Morbidity*
  • Orosomucoid / analysis
  • Serum Amyloid A Protein / analysis
  • Vitamin A / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Acute-Phase Proteins
  • Orosomucoid
  • Serum Amyloid A Protein
  • Vitamin A
  • C-Reactive Protein