THE IMPACT OF VITAMIN-A SUPPLEMENTATION ON MORBIDITY - A RANDOMIZED COMMUNITY INTERVENTION TRIAL

A randomized community trial investigated the impact of vitamin A supplementation on symptoms of respiratory and enteric infections among Indonesian children aged 1 to 5 years. A sample of 450 villages had been randomized into 229 villages that received vitamin A distribution and 221 that were observed as controls. The prevalence rates of cough, fever, and diarrhea were reduced in the treatment villages compared with the control villages by 8%, 5%, and 11%, respectively, but the reduction was not statistically significant. These results indicate that vitamin A supplements did not produce a substantial reduction in these symptoms, in spite of a reported reduction in all-cause mortality.