Vitamin A deficiency is considered widespread health problem among children in developing countries. There are a limited number of studies related to the vitamin A status of children in Turkey. We studied serum vitamin A levels in 80 healthy children less than 2 years of age admitted to Dr. Sami Ulus Children's Hospital for measles immunization. Vitamin A levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and ranged from 8.5 to 34 µg/dl (mean 23.54 ± 6.86 µg/dl). We have shown that subclinical vitamin A deficiency is an important public health problem in Ankara, as approximately 30 percent of the children examined were found to have low levels of serum vitamin A (<20 µg/dl).

Keywords: vitamin A deficiency, child health, infant, Turkey