%0 Journal Article
%T Determination of Vitamins A, C and D Status Using Serum Markers and a 24-Hour Dietary Recall among Maasai Women of Reproductive Age
%A Haikael Martin
%A Pammla Petrucka
%A Joram Buza
%J Open Access Library Journal
%V 1
%N 8
%P 1-7
%@ 2333-9721
%D 2014
%I Open Access Library
%R 10.4236/oalib.1100893
%X We previously reported that the prevalence of oral thrush among Maasai
women of reproductive age in Ngorongoro Conservation Area was abnormally high
(32%) in the absence of immune-compromising diseases such as HIV. This study
was undertaken to test the hypothesis that Maasai women of reproductive age are
prone to oral thrush because they are deficient in micronutrients such as Vitamins A, C, D, and B12, as well as
iron and folate which are known to have immune modulating functions. Method:
The study recruited 210 participants out of which 180 agreed to donate blood
for serum separation and analyses. A total of 107 participants (including 28
with oral thrush and 79 without oral thrush) were assessed for dietary intake
of iron, folate, Vitamins A, C, and B12 using a 24 hours dietary recall method.
Further, 40 serum samples randomly selected from the 180 serum samples were
tested for concentrations of Vitamins A and C using commercially available HPLC
kit while the concentration of Vitamin D was tested using the commercially
available 25-OH Vitamin D ELISA Assay kit. Statistical analysis was performed
using IBM SPSS Statistics 20¡æ, where descriptive and inferential statistics
were applied to demographic, socioeconomic and biochemical variables. Student¡¯s
t-test was used to test for significant differences among variables at 95%
confidence level. The proportion of women with deficiency was calculated for
single and multiple micronutrients. Results: Results from the 24-hour dietary
recall method revealed that with the exception of folate (p = 0.000), there were no significant differences in iron, Vitamins
A, C, and B12 intake between participants with and without oral thrush. Of
note, the intake of these four micronutrients was below the Recommended
Nutrient Intake (RNI). A similar trend was observed for serum vitamin concentrations
as established by HPLC and ELISA testing. While there was no significant
difference in serum concentration of Vitamins A, C, and D between participants
with and without oral thrush (p > 0.05),
the serum levels were all below normal signifying deficiency of micronutrients
in the sample. Conclusion: Overall, this study revealed micronutrient
deficiency in the women of reproductive age in the Ngorongoro Conservation
Area, which may contribute to the previously reported high levels of oral
thrush. Recommendations: Nutrition education directed to this community on the
importance of eating micronutrient rich foods such as fruits and vegetables is
highly recommended.
%K Maasai Women
%K Micronutrients
%K Vitamins A
%K B12
%K C
%K D
%K Oral thrush
%K Ngorongoro Conservation Area
%U http://www.oalib.com/paper/3102794