AN EVALUATION OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EXTERNAL EYE DISEASES AND VITAMIN-A STATUS IN BLACK SOUTH-AFRICAN CHILDREN

This study was undertaken at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban, in ord er to investigate the association between external eye diseases and vi tamin A status. The most common external eye disease seen at the outpa tient eye clinic is allergic conjunctivitis. Serum retinol concentrati ons were determined in 78 black children (1 - 12 years of age) with ex ternal eye diseases and 26 suitable controls. Mean serum retinol conce ntrations were similar in the two groups (27.1 +/- 9.9 v. 26.7 +/- 8.1 mu g/dl) and similar proportions (26% v. 19%) of the two groups had l ow serum retinol concentrations (<20 mu g/dl). The study therefore sho wed that vitamin A deficiency is not the immediate cause of allergic c onjunctivitis and other external eye diseases in African children in a typical South African setting. Vitamin A supplementation should there fore not be given to children with allergic conjunctivitis and other e xternal eye diseases unless they have classic signs of vitamin A defic iency (corneal xerosis with or without Bitot's spots; conjunctival xer osis; keratomalacia) and/or qualify for any of the other criteria for supplementation, i.e. malnutrition, severe measles, chronic diarrhoea and pneumonia.