Objectives
To evaluate the impact of home fortification with MNP on vitamin A status in young Brazilian children.
Methods
A multicentre pragmatic, controlled trial was carried out in 24 primary health centres in four Brazilian cities. At study baseline, the control group (CG) consisted of children 11 to 14 months old (n=395) treated in routine paediatric healthcare and, in parallel, the intervention group (IG) was composed of children between 6 and 8 months of age (n=399) who followed the intervention with MNP. The analysis of the impact of fortification on nutritional status of vitamin A was performed by comparing the IG with the CG after a 4â6-month follow-up when IG children had reached the age of the controls.
Results
The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in the CG was 16.20%, while in the IG it was 7.52%. This difference corresponded to a 55% reduction in the prevalence of VAD. This reduction was also significant when stratifying the study centres by coverage of the Brazilian Vitamin A Supplementation Program. The adjusted distribution of serum concentrations improved by 2 standard deviations in the IG compared with CG children.
Conclusions
Home fortification with a MNP was effective in reducing vitamin A deficiency among young Brazilian children
