Vitamin A Deficiency - age and gender distribution

In an attempt to understand the prevalence of Vitamin A-Deficiency (VAD) in different subgroups of the local population better, we analyzed the age- and sex-distribution of persons with Bitot`s spots, an objective sign of VAD, who attended NGO-run primary health care centers in the urban and suburban slums of Kolkata and Howrah as well as in few villages around Kolkata.

A child with a Bitot`s spot (in the left eye

The graphic underneath shows the age and sex distribution of 167 consecutive patients with Bitot`s spots, who attended primary health care centers for various ailments in the years 2008 - 2010. These patients with Bitot`s spots were identified through screening of all (more than 10.000) patients attending the primary health care centers for the presence Bitot`s spots. Primary health care centers are freely accessible for persons of both sexes and all age groups.

The accompanying illnesses of patients with Bitot`s spots were of serious nature in some of the patients, but of minor severity in the majority of the them. The association of some diagnoses with Bitot`s spots is shown in a different part of this document.

The graphic shows that Bitot`s spots, although widely believed to be a problem of children of preschool age only, are indeed most frequent among children and adolescents of school age, with a slight male preponderance. There is a second peak in the age distribution of Bitot`s spots due to Vitamin A Deficiency among women of childbearing age.

Limitations of this survey are its restriction to some selected slums with gross poverty and to persons who feel sick enough to attend a primary health care center.