Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Apr;129(4):e960-6.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0119. Epub 2012 Mar 12.

Effect on infant illness of maternal supplementation with 400 000 IU vs 200 000 IU of vitamin A

Taciana Fernanda dos Santos Fernandes  1 , José Natal Figueiroa, Ilma Kruze Grande de Arruda, Alcides da Silva Diniz
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect on infant illness of maternal supplementation with 400 000 IU vs 200 000 IU of vitamin A

Taciana Fernanda dos Santos Fernandes et al. Pediatrics. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Background and objective: Postpartum vitamin A supplementation is a strategy used to combat vitamin A deficiency and seems to reduce maternal/infant morbidity and mortality. However, studies have shown that a dose of 200 000 IU (World Health Organization [WHO] protocol) does not seem to provide adequate retinol levels in maternal breast milk, infant serum, and infant tissue. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of postpartum maternal supplementation with 400 000 IU (International Vitamin A Consultative Group protocol) compared with 200 000 IU of vitamin A on infant morbidity.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled, triple-blinded clinical trial conducted at 2 public maternity hospitals in Recife in northeastern Brazil. There were 276 mother-child pairs that were allocated to 2 treatment groups: 400 000 IU or 200 000 IU of vitamin A. They were followed up for >6 months to evaluate infant morbidity.

Results: Fever (rate ratio [RR]: 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75-1.14]), diarrhea (RR: 0.96 [95% CI: 0.72-1.28]), otitis (RR: 0.94 [95% CI: 0.48-1.85]), acute respiratory infection (RR: 1.03 [95% CI: 0.88-1.21]), the need for intravenous rehydration (RR: 2.08 [95% CI: 0.64-2.07]), and the use of antibiotic treatment (RR: 0.80 [95% CI: 0.43-1.47]) did not differ significantly between the 2 treatment groups.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that postpartum maternal supplementation with 400 000 IU of vitamin A does not provide any additional benefits in the reduction of illness in children aged <6 months; therefore, we do not support the proposal to increase the standard vitamin A dose in the existing WHO protocol.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00742937.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials flowchart. RN, registered nurse.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beaton GH.Martorell R, Aronson KA, et al. Vitamin A supplementation for preventing morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight [in Spanish]. Bol Oficina Sanit Panam. 1994;117(6):506–517
    1. Sommer A, Tarwotjo I, Hussaini G, Susanto D. Increased mortality in children with mild vitamin A deficiency. Lancet. 1983;2(8350):585–588 - PubMed
    1. Glasziou PP, Mackerras DE. Vitamin A supplementation in infectious diseases: a meta-analysis. BMJ. 1993;306(6874):366–370 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Humphrey JH, Agoestina T, Wu L, et al. . Impact of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on infant morbidity and mortality. J Pediatr. 1996;128(4):489–496 - PubMed
    1. Assis AMO.Barreto ML. Suplementação com vitamina A: impacto na morbidade e efeitos adversos. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2002;5(1):84–92

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data