Giardiasis and Poor Vitamin A Status among Aboriginal School Children in Rural Malaysia

A cross-sectional studs' was carried out on 241 primary schoolchildren in Pahang. Malaysia to update their vitamin A status and to investigate the association of poor vitamin A status with their health and socioeconomic factors All children were screened for intestinal parasitic infections Blood samples were collected and vitamin A status was assessed. Socioeconomic data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaires. The results showed that 66 (27.4%) children had low serum retinol levels (< 0 70 mu mol/L) Giardiasis and severe ascariasis were significantly associated with low serum retinol levels (P = 0 004 and P = 0 018, respectively) Logistic regression confirmed the significant association of giardiasis with low serum retinol (odds ratio = 2 7.95% confidence interval = 1 3-5 5) In conclusion. vitamin A deficiency is still a public health problem in rural Malaysia. Vitamin A supplementation and treatment of intestinal parasitic infections should be distributed periodically to these children to improve their health and nutritional status