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The anemia of vitamin A deficiency: epidemiology and pathogenesis

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 56, pages 271–281 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To gain insight into vitamin A deficiency as a cause of anemia.

Methods: Comprehensive review of the scientific literature.

Results: Although vitamin A deficiency is recognized to cause anemia, ‘vitamin A deficiency anemia’ lacks complete characterization as a distinct clinical entity. Vitamin A appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of anemia through diverse biological mechanisms, such as the enhancement of growth and differentiation of erythrocyte progenitor cells, potentiation of immunity to infection and reduction of the anemia of infection, and mobilization of iron stores from tissues. Epidemiological surveys show that the prevalence of anemia is high in populations affected by vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. Improvement of vitamin A status has generally been shown to reduce anemia, but the actual public health impact on anemia is unclear.

Conclusions: Further work is needed to elucidate the biological mechanisms by which vitamin A causes anemia. The inclusion of anemia as an outcome measure in future micronutrient intervention studies should help provide further insight into the anemia of vitamin A deficiency.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for this study came from: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD32247, HD30042), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AI41956), and the Fogarty International Center, the National Institutes of Health, and the United States Agency for International Development (Cooperative Agreement HRN A-0097-00015-00).

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  1. RD Semba: Guarantor: RD Semba.

  2. RD Semba and MW Bloem: Contributors: RD Semba and MW Bloem both reviewed the literature and wrote the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Ophthalmology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    RD Semba

  2. Helen Keller International, Jakarta, Indonesia

    MW Bloem

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  1. RD Semba
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Correspondence to RD Semba.

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Semba, R., Bloem, M. The anemia of vitamin A deficiency: epidemiology and pathogenesis. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, 271–281 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601320

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601320

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