Current Status of Vitamin a Deficiency and the National Vitamin A Control Program in Mongolia: Results of the 2010 National Nutrition Survey

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the status of vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 years old children in Mongolia. Methods: This cross-sectional studies was conducted in 21 provinces of 4 economic regions and capital Ulaanbaatar city. The study subjects were a total of 433 children aged 6-59 months and their families who participated in the 2010 Mongolian National Nutrition Survey (MNNS), a nationally representative survey. Households were selected by multi-stage sampling. A total of 125 primary sampling units were selected from sampled households were assessed via biochemically determined concentrations of retinol in plasma or serum. Results: The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 years old was 32.4%. Prevalence rates of vitamin A deficiency in the highest and lowest areas were seen in Western (40.7%) and Central (16.7%) regions, respectively. Respondents for 72.8% (95%CI 67.4-77.6) of children reported that the child had received vitamin A supplementation. The proportion of children who received vitamin A supplementation was lowest in Eastern Region. After age 24-29 months, coverage declines slowly with age until only one-half of children 54-59 months of age received supplementation. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 years old appeared to be a significant public health problem in Mongolia. Education on reasonable ways of feeding and provision of complementary nutrients to children with vitamin A deficiency, should be the key points in the prevention and control programs on this problem.