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Abstract: Objective: We investigated the prevalence of anemia and deficiency in trace elements in adolescent girls living in rural Vietnam. Methods: Two hundred forty-five adolescent girls 11–17 y of age from three schools in rural province of Ha Nam, Vietnam, were assessed. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 20.4%. The incidences of low serum selenium (Se), zinc, and copper in subjects were 15.9%, 26.5%, and 4.1%, respectively. The parameter significantly associated with anemia was the low serum levels of Se and vice versa (odds ratio [OR] 5.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.57–11.18, P < 0.0001). Other risk factors for anemia were a body mass index <17.00 kg/m2 (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.37–5.37, P = 0.004) and years of age (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.14–1.59, P < 0.001). A body mass index <17.00 kg/m2 (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.25–5.61, P = 0.011) was also found to be a risk factor for low serum Se. Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrate that low serum Se is independently associated with anemia in adolescent girls living in rural Vietnam. Interventions are required to gain insight into the potential role of Se on prevention and control of anemia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate serum levels of vitamin A in patients with active tuberculosis (TB) at the time of diagnosis and after completion of an intensive phase of anti-TB chemotherapy in comparison with the levels in controls. In a prospective semilongitudinal study, sera were collected from 222 patients with TB at baseline and from 57 of them 2 months after initiation of the anti-TB treatment in Gondar, Ethiopia. Healthy controls (n = 92) and asymptomatic HIV-infected blood donors (n = 30) were also included. Serum vitamin A levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. At baseline, the mean serum vitamin A levels in the patients with TB with (n = 115) or without (n = 107) HIV coinfection and in the asymptomatic HIV-infected blood donors were significantly lower than those in the controls (P < .001). Vitamin A deficiency (serum retinol of < 0.70 μmol/L) was observed in 62.6% and 56.1% of the patients with and without HIV coinfection, respectively. Thirteen percent of the controls and 33.3% of the asymptomatic HIV-infected blood donors were deficient in vitamin A. The serum levels of vitamin A increased significantly after anti-TB chemotherapy both in patients with (n = 34) and without (n = 23) HIV coinfection (P < .05). The results demonstrate that vitamin A deficiency is a severe public health problem in Gondar, Ethiopia. In addition, the low vitamin A levels observed in the sera of the patients during diagnosis of TB returned to normal levels at the end of the intensive phase of anti-TB therapy without supplementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]