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. 2018 Aug 16;10(8):1100.
doi: 10.3390/nu10081100.

Approaches to Assess Vitamin A Status in Settings of Inflammation: Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) Project

Affiliations

Approaches to Assess Vitamin A Status in Settings of Inflammation: Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) Project

Leila M Larson et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The accurate estimation of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is critical to informing programmatic and policy decisions that could have important public health implications. However, serum retinol and retinol binding protein (RBP) concentrations, two biomarkers often used to estimate VAD, are temporarily altered during the acute phase response, potentially overestimating the prevalence of VAD in populations with high levels of inflammation. In 22 nationally-representative surveys, we examined (1) the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) or α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and retinol or RBP, and (2) how different adjustment approaches for correcting for inflammation compare with one another. In preschool age children (PSC) and school age children (SAC), the association between inflammation and retinol and RBP was largely statistically significant; using the regression approach, adjustments for inflammation decreased the estimated prevalence of VAD compared to unadjusted VAD (range: -22.1 to -6.0 percentage points). In non-pregnant women of reproductive age (WRA), the association between inflammation and vitamin A biomarkers was inconsistent, precluding adjustments for inflammation. The burden of VAD can be overestimated if inflammation is not accounted for, and the regression approach provides a method for adjusting retinol and RBP for inflammation across the full range of concentrations in PSC and SAC.

Keywords: Vitamin A; infection; inflammation; retinol; retinol binding protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated prevalence (95% CI) of vitamin A deficiency in preschool age children by C-reactive protein (CRP) (top) and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) (bottom) deciles. Top figure: solid line represents prevalence of retinol binding protein (RBP) < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 11,605), dotted line represents prevalence of retinol < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 9798). Bottom figure: Solid line represents prevalence of RBP < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 11,605), dotted line represents prevalence of retinol < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 10,055). AGP, α1-acid glycoprotein; CRP, C-reactive protein; RBP, retinol binding protein.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated prevalence (95% CI) of vitamin A deficiency in school age children by CRP (top) and AGP (bottom) deciles. Top figure: solid line represents prevalence of RBP < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 750), dotted line represents prevalence of retinol < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 11,341). Bottom figure: Solid line represents prevalence of RBP < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 750), dotted line represents prevalence of retinol < 0.70 μmol/L (n = 1,271). AGP, α1-acid glycoprotein; CRP, C-reactive protein; RBP, retinol binding protein.

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