INFLUENCE OF MORBIDITY ON SERUM RETINOL OF CHILDREN IN A COMMUNITY-BASED STUDY IN NORTHERN GHANA

Serum retinol concentrations decrease during illness and thus may not accurately reflect the vitamin A status of populations with a high pre valence of illness. To quantify the contribution of illness to low ser um retinol in a field study of children aged 6-59 mo in northern Ghana , serum retinol values were compared with two indicators of recent ill ness: symptoms reported by parents and acute-phase protein concentrati ons in serum. Serum retinol was not associated with symptoms of illnes s but showed a significant negative correlation with both alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and serum amyloid A (SAA). Elevated AGP was associa ted with a 24% decrease in mean serum retinol. A large proportion of a symptomatic children had elevated AGP or SAA concentrations, suggestin g that subclinical infections may have had important effects on serum retinol. A significant negative correlation between malaria parasite d ensity and serum retinol indicated that malaria may have been one of t he subclinical infections responsible. Measurement of AGP may improve interpretation of serum retinol data from populations with a high prev alence of morbidity.