The impact of sociodemography, diet, and body size on serum retinol in women 16-35 years of age: SANHANES-1

Whadi-Ah Parker; Zandile J Mchiza; Ronel Sewpaul; Nophiwe Job; Lumbwe Chola; Moses Sithole; Demetre Labadarios

doi:10.1111/nyas.13504

The impact of sociodemography, diet, and body size on serum retinol in women 16-35 years of age: SANHANES-1

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2017 Nov 10. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13504. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Whadi-Ah Parker¹, Zandile J Mchiza¹, Ronel Sewpaul¹, Nophiwe Job¹, Lumbwe Chola², Moses Sithole³, Demetre Labadarios¹

Affiliations

¹ Population Health, Health Systems and Innovation, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
² PRICELESS SA, University of Witwatersrand School of Public Health, Parktown, South Africa.
³ Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.

PMID: 29125179
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13504

Abstract

To determine the current vitamin A status of a nationally representative sample of women aged 16-35 years, compare it with previous national data, and determine the impact of sociodemography, diet, and body size on vitamin A status, we performed secondary analysis of data on South African women who participated in the first South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). Vitamin A status was assessed by serum retinol, and the findings are reported as means and prevalences with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Overall, the age-standardized vitamin A deficiency prevalence was 11.7%, a decrease from previous national data, but serum retinol levels remained lower than in other developing countries. Overall, unweighted, multilevel, multivariate logistic regression showed that vitamin A deficiency was influenced by race only (odds ratio (OR) = 1.89, P = 0.031), while weighted multiple logistic regression for 16- to 18-year-olds showed that vitamin A deficiency was influenced by locality (OR = 9.83, P = 0.005) and household income (intermediate (OR = 0.2, P = 0.022) and upper (OR = 0.25, P = 0.049)). Despite the decreased prevalence, vitamin A deficiency remains a moderate public health problem in the country. Opportunities for targeted interventions have been identified.

Keywords: SANHANES-1; South Africa; serum retinol; vitamin A deficiency; women.