PREVALENCE OF CHILDHOOD RIBOFLAVIN DEFICIENCY AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS; A STUDY IN RURAL AREA IN KERMAN PROVINCE

Background: The incidence of riboflavin deficiency is high in women and children in developing countries and the deficiency almost invariably occurs in combination with deficiencies of other water soluble vitamins. The objective of this study was the assessment of riboflavin status of rural school children in Kerman province and its relationship with riboflavin, protein and energy intake. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 327 primary school children were randomly selected by the stratified multistage cluster sampling method. Variables for classifications were sex and socio-economic status (according to the educational level). This study was conducted by the Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry of School of Public Health in Tehran University in the winter of 2001. A twenty-four hour recall questionnaire was completed by and 5 cc of venous blood was taken from each student. Riboflavin status was assessed by measuring the glutathione reductase activity coefficient (EGR – AC) of the red blood cells. Chi-Square and Pearson’s correlation coefficient tests were used to determine correlations. Student’s t–test was used to show the differences in the mean of EGR – AC between the classifications of independent factors. Results: The relationship between riboflavin status and its independent variables including the status of riboflavin, protein and calorie intake were assessed. Outputs of the study indicated that 39.7% of the boys and 43.6% of the girls (41.8% together) were marginally riboflavin deficient. Furthermore, 37.7% of the boys, 33.4% of the girls (35.4% together) were frankly riboflavin deficient. An average of 67.2% of the children (70.1% boys, 63.7% girls) had enough intake of riboflavin, and 76.2% of the children (79.9%, boys, 72.5% girls) had adequate intake of protein. However, only 22% of the children (24.5% boys, 19.3% girls) had sufficient caloric intake. Outputs of this dietary evaluation reveal that there is a relationship between riboflavin status and protein intake status (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study shows that riboflavin deficiency is an important problem for the rural school children of Kerman province and the level of protein intake is an important factor affecting riboflavin status in these children.